


SM Origins: Kai

by t_dragon



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mutants, Alternate Universe - X-Men, Endgame Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol, Endgame Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Kim Jongin | Kai, Implied/Referenced Terrorism, Multi, Mutant Powers, Slice of Life, X-men Inspired
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-29
Updated: 2018-05-29
Packaged: 2019-05-15 18:28:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 26,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14795684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/t_dragon/pseuds/t_dragon
Summary: Jongin's entire world is thrown off of its axis when he at age thirteen discovers that he is a mutant, but it rights itself into another kind of reality when he arrives at the SM Academy for Gifted Youngsters and start to get to know the eccentric mutants he now call his schoolmates.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt # or Self Prompt: Selfprompt  
> Pairing: Endgame KaiSoo, Endgame BaekYeol, KaiStal, BaekYeon, SuRene  
> Rating: M  
> Warnings: Fight scenes (and to some, unfavorable ships?)  
> Author’s note: Hello, hello, y'all! How ya doin'? Good? Great! So, this is my little contribution to EXOLEAGUE! I love power concepts, and just couldn't keep myself away, and got an idea, so... Here we are? I know some won't like the fact that there is KaiStal and BaekYeon in this, but please be patient, I promise that endgame is KaiSoo and BaekYeol. There are a lot of years to go through, and instant and perfect relationships that last forever is a bit unrealistic. Not impossible, but improbable. With that being said, I hope you'll enjoy this little (it's not small at all) fic, I truly enjoyed writing it!

**2007 {13}**

 

 When Kim Jongin was thirteen, his powers manifested. It was rather sudden and scary for the young boy - one moment trying to dodge a ball during P.E., and the other moment standing outside of the building. Mutants were not something new, neither were they too unusual, but people were still a bit hesitant about them. Which was obvious from how quickly the rumors spread, and by how many suspicious looks Jongin got the day after his accidental teleportation.

 Jongin refused to go to school after that day. And as his mother was trying to convince him to go to school, there was a knock on the door. A knock that would change Jongin’s life forever.

 

 The SM Academy for Gifted Youngsters looked nothing like what Jongin had expected. He was not sure what he had expected, but certainly not  _ this _ . The school looked like a mansion, and Jongin could not help but stare at they drove through the gate and over to the large stone staircase at the front of the building.

 Standing on top of the stairs, smartly dressed, was a boy. He smiled softly as they parked and got out of the car, going down the few stairs to meet them.

 “Hello and welcome to the SM Academy! I’m Kim Junmyeon, one of the students,” the boy said, still smiling softly as he bowed to them, then turned to Jongin. “I’m guessing you’re Kim Jongin, the new student?”

 Jongin hesitantly nodded and gave a small bow - as much of a bow that clinging to his mother would allow. Junmyeon’s smile grew even more, in that nice kind of way.

 “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to help you feel at home,” Junmyeon said, motioning towards the doors leading inside. “It is a really great place, let me show you.”

 

 Unfortunately, Jongin’s parents had work to get back to, so after the basic tour, they had to leave. Never one to make a big scene, Jongin silently let them go, even though his mind was screaming at him to cling to them, run after them.

 Junmyeon obviously noticed that something was off, as he placed a hand on Jongin’s shoulder, and gave another one of his kind smiles.

 “Hey, how about I show you some of the cooler stuff here? I’m not really supposed to, a teacher is supposed to do that, but… As long as we’re careful, it should be no worries.”

 Immediately intrigued by these cooler things that he was not supposed to see yet, Jongin gave a nod, trying to discreetly wipe away the tears that had gathered in his eyes.

 

 “This is our training facilities, where we can safely train no matter what abilities we have,” Junmyeon gently explained as they walked down a hallway towards a single door.

 Jongin was pretty sure he was hearing screaming coming from the indicated room, and as Junmyeon frowned, Jongin’s suspicions started to cement.

 “No one is supposed to be in here,” Junmyeon muttered as he hurried towards the door, Jongin hot on his trail.

 After all, Jongin might be a bit shy, but he  _ loved _ drama.

 As Junmyeon threw the door open, a body hit the wall next to it. It was a boy, not many years older than Jongin, who with a grunt fell to his hands and knees. Before Junmyeon even had the chance to open his mouth, the boy was jumping onto his feet, charging towards the center of the room.

 “That hurt, you lil’ shit!” the boy yelled, and that was when Jongin noticed that another boy was standing in the room, grinning widely as the first boy ran towards him.

 Jongin held his breath as the boys collided, the first boy seemingly having the upper hand, moving with sureness, but then the other boy planted his open hand in the middle of the first boy’s chest and  _ pushed _ . The first boy went flying yet again, this time not hitting the wall, but skidding across the floor.

 Before the first boy was able to get up on his feet yet again, the air seemed to turn drier, before water was dumped over the two fighting boys who both gave surprised shrieks.

 “You’re not supposed to train  _ unsupervised _ , neither of you are in control of your abilities enough to be left alone to use them!” Junmyeon barked out, making Jongin jump a little. The older seemed to have gone from soft parent-figure to scolding teacher, the switch rather sudden.

 “Aw, don’t be such a spoilsport, Junmyeon-hyung!” the boy on the floor called out, sitting up and pushing his wet bangs out of his face.

 “A new one?” the other boy asked, and Jongin turned to find him squinting, looking like a mix of mad and confused.

 “Where’s your glasses, Kyungsoo?” Junmyeon sighed, obviously having noticed the squinting as well.

 “We thought you’d probably actually drown us if we broke another pair whilst fighting,” the first boy said, getting on his feet with seemingly a lot of effort, strolling over to where Junmyeon and Jongin were still standing in the door opening. “Oh, a cute one! What are you, like twelve? Adorable!”

 “Thirteen,” Jongin muttered, feeling a bit offended that someone was calling him a cute twelve year old. He was actually a teenager!

 “Well, excuse me then,  _ Mr. Thirteen _ ,” the boy said, giving a wink. “I’m Baekhyun, but you can call me hyung! What’s your power?”

 Junmyeon stepped in front of Jongin, pushing Baekhyun back a little.

 “Don’t be rude, Baekhyun. You don’t ask people questions like that out of the blue!” Junmyeon scolded the wet boy, making him pout.

 “It’s not rude, I’m curious!” Baekhyun whined, before turning back to Jongin with a pretty impressive portrayal of puppy eyes. “Do you think it’s rude? You don’t, right?”

 “Hello, I’m Kyungsoo, what’s your name?” the other boy said, suddenly having appeared next to Baekhyun, and making Jongin jump a little in surprise.

 “Uh, Jongin,” Jongin mumbled, trying to make his heart calm down. He really did not want to teleport right now; he had no idea  _ where _ he would end up!

 “Nice to meet you, Jongin,” Kyungsoo said, smiling so that his already round cheeks turned even rounder, and Jongin kind of wanted to poke them to see if they were as soft as they looked. “Please ignore Baekhyun, he’s nice, but he can be a bit pushy at times. If he does get annoying, just run away, he hates running.”

 “Why is everybody ganging up on me?” Baekhyun muttered, throwing his hands into the air as he began to walk away. “I’m the nicest guy there is!”

 “He’s also a bit arrogant, but we still love him,” Kyungsoo said, smile growing at Baekhyun’s dramatic wail.

 Jongin could not help but give a small smile as well, absently playing with his fingers. Because it was rather funny, and Kyungsoo had an infectious smile.

 “Okay, I need to continue the tour, so you two get away with it this time,” Junmyeon said, pointing between Kyungsoo and Baekhyun. “Get out of here in this very instant, and I’ll forget about it, deal?”

 Suddenly, Kyungsoo and Baekhyun were wearing matching, and a bit mischievous, grins.

 “You got it, boss!” Kyungsoo chirped out as Baekhyun raced over, and they both gave bows before rushing past Junmyeon and Jongin. “Nice to meet you, Jongin!”

 Junmyeon sighed as they watched the two go, shaking his head.

 “Really nice boys, but such trouble-makers…,” Junmyeon tuted. “Don’t let them rope you into their pranks and stuff, Jongin.”

 Jongin gave a nod to show that he was listening, but… He did not make any promises.

 

 Dinner at the SM Academy was chaotic, to say the least. There were a lot of people there, and with everyone being anywhere between ‘barely any control’ and ‘full control’ over their powers, it was bound to result in some accidents.

 “This is one of the reasons for why we try to make sure everyone gets somewhat of a control over their abilities as soon as possible,” Junmyeon told Jongin as they were waiting in line for the food.

 And Jongin pretty soon got a good real life example as to  _ why _ this was. Just as he and Junmyeon had sat down by a table occupied by a few others - introducing themselves as Minseok, Amber, and Minho - there was a loud scream, before the sound of things falling to the floor and glass breaking was heard.

 Jumping a little, but thankfully not teleporting, Jongin whirled around in his seat to see what had happened. Some way away, large plants were growing out of a table, and as Jongin was looking, a reddish light formed around them, seemingly keeping them in even as they tried to grow stronger. As Jongin watched, the plants started to wither, until finally falling down into nothingness.

 “Poor girl, it’s the third time it happens this week…,” the boy called Minho mumbled, lightly tapping his chopsticks against his bowl.

 “Lucky Joohyun was there,” the other boy, Minseok, said, and there was something in his voice that had Jongin look over at him.

 “Yeah, Joohyun is pretty good at handling these things, she’s kinda cool,” the girl, Amber, said, voice bearing the same tone as Minseok’s, and from how both she and Minseok were smiling, Jongin knew they were up to something. “Isn’t she, Junmyeon?”

 Starting to understand what it was all about, Jongin turned to find Junmyeon blushing lightly, eyes on the table in front of him.

 “I mean, yeah, sure…,” Junmyeon said, voice a tad higher than normal. “She’s pretty cool? I guess?”

 Glancing back towards where the plants had been, Jongin saw a crying girl being comforted by another girl - who he assumed was this Joohyun they were talking about. She was smiling gently at the girl in her arms, and it looked a lot like how Junmyeon smiled.

 Jongin thought that they would probably be a good match. It seemed like it, at least at first glance.

 

 “Hey, Jongin!”

 Jongin turned around to find Junmyeon walking towards him, smiling softly as always - but today there was another boy trailing after him, looking lost and honestly a bit scared. Jongin wondered if that was what he had looked like when he had first arrived, because he was pretty sure that this boy was a newly arrived student.

 “Hi, Junmyeon,” Jongin answered as Junmyeon and the boy caught up to him, glancing between the two.

 “Jongin, meet Sehun,” Junmyeon introduced, motioning towards the boy who was playing with the hem of his shirt. “He arrived today, and will be sharing a room with you.”

 Jongin’s eyes widened at the new information. Up until now, Jongin had lived alone in the double room he had been placed in, seeing as the others were already filled, but it seemed like that was about to change now.

 “Ah, really? Cool!” Jongin exclaimed, smiling broadly. “Nice to meet you, Sehun, I hope we’ll get along!”

 Glancing up at Jongin, Sehun gave a small smile and a nod, before going back to messing with his shirt, and Jongin felt bad for him. It was not that long ago that Jongin had been in Sehun’s position, newly separated from his family, with a whole new aspect to his identity to try to figure out.

 “Jongin, are you done with your classes for today?” Junmyeon suddenly asked, and Jongin gave a nod. “Why don’t you come along for the tour? So you guys can get to know each other a bit?”

 Jongin suspected it was not only to get to know each other, but also to make it easier for Sehun, but he did not mind.

 “Sure! Can we go to my- our room first? So I can drop off my stuff?” Jongin asked, getting a brilliant smile from Junmyeon.

 “Sounds like a great plan, then you can see your room as well, Sehun,” Junmyeon said, turning to smile down at Sehun.

 Sehun just nodded at that, and Jongin, without thinking, walked over to Sehun and linked their arms together. He did not like the sad downturn of Sehun’s lips, and wanted to cheer the other one up.

 “It’s a really nice room, and the beds are softer than you first think,” Jongin said as he began to pull Sehun along, babbling all the way over to their room, Junmyeon following.

 

 “Do you take everyone on a tour to show the ‘cool stuff’, hyung?” Jongin asked as they wandered down the hallway towards the training facilities.

 “Uh, maybe?” Junmyeon answered, flushing a very light pink that had Jongin laughing. “It’s a good distraction, and you’re supposed to get acquainted with this place anyway!”

 “And then we realize we’re not as special as you make us feel,” another voice joined in, and they turned around to find Baekhyun standing there, a lazy grin on his lips. “Ah, another one, I see. Another soul to corrupt! Especially since Jongin hasn’t yet given in to my temptations…”

 “This is Baekhyun-hyung,” Jongin said to Sehun, who looked a bit shocked. “He’s a bit strange, but nice!”

 Baekhyun’s grin slipped off of his lips as he stared at Jongin, a pout beginning to form instead.

 “Are you going to join the ‘gang up on Baekhyun’ gang as well?” Baekhyun whined, walking over to cup Jongin’s cheeks. “I thought you were a sweet child!”

 “I’m not a child, hyung,” Jongin muttered, voice a bit distorted by Baekhyun squishing his cheeks.

 “Oh, shit (“Baekhyun!”), right, Mr. Thirteen, I’d forgotten,” Baekhyun drawled, letting go of Jongin to hit the heel of his hand against his forehead, though simultaneously rolling his eyes. “You still look like twelve, though.”

 Jongin gasped in outrage - because he certainly did  _ not _ look like twelve! - but a low giggle cut off his reply, and he glanced to the side to find Sehun standing with a hand pressed against his mouth, eyes starting to form crescents. Jongin looked over at Baekhyun, who winked, before sighing.

 “This has been lovely, y’all, but I have places to be, people to talk to,” Baekhyun said, making it sounds as if saying goodbye to him was the worst thing to ever happen to them. “Lovely meeting you, new boy, I’m sure we’ll see each other more, and remember that ‘gang up on Baekhyun’ gang is really sucky and not cool at all! In contrast to me! Toodles!”

 And like that, Baekhyun walked away, leaving them alone again.

 “He’s rather charming when he wants to be, but don’t let him drag you down, Sehun-ah,” Junmyeon said, sighing as he rubbed his temples. “Let’s continue on with the tour. Come on, boys, follow me!”

 

 Jongin and Sehun quickly formed a close bond, seeing as both were thirteen, and new students. Jongin helped Sehun adjust to the life at a boarding school, and how to handle the home sickness. And by gaining a roommate, Jongin did not have to feel as alone anymore, having the sound of someone else’s breathing close by to calm him down during the darkest nights.

 All in all, everything worked out rather perfectly, and Sehun easily blended into the small group that had recently expanded. From the beginning having been Kyungsoo and Baekhyun, who then adopted Jongin as one of them, to Jongdae - a recent addition who was proving himself to be rather alike Baekhyun, much to Junmyeon’s chagrin - and now including Sehun, they became a sort of mini family for each other.

 And then suddenly one day, Jongin realized that he did not mind the sudden change in his life too much. It was actually rather exciting, even if he was missing his family. There was enough happening at the Academy to keep Jongin occupied and distracted for most of the time.

  
  


**2008 {14}**

 

 With a new year came a new boy - this one rather tall and lanky, and a bit awkward. Nevertheless, he was quickly picked up by Baekhyun and Jongdae, who were the same age and in the same classes, and shortly after he had been introduced to the rest, they had realized that Chanyeol was a pretty funny guy. And very much alike all of them,  _ especially _ Baekhyun and Jongdae. Junmyeon was anxiously walking around waiting for the next big prank, knowing that with three of them, it would probably be  _ big _ .

 Shortly after Chanyeol, Seulgi arrived, and Jongin and Sehun quickly pulled her into their little group as well, since Jongin knew Seulgi from his dance classes - Seulgi being one of the few girls he could actually stand in their previous dance class.

 And so, they became seven close-knitted friends, quickly learning a lot about each other. Like their mutant powers.

 Baekhyun had no problems whatsoever with declaring that his power was light, and it was obvious that he was proud of it. It also rather soon became clear what Kyungsoo’s power was - considering he was rather small, yet had a tendency to accidentally break things that were normally pretty hard to break.

 Seulgi’s ability was revealed as she managed to pull Sehun to safety when one of their classmates accidentally gave a mini explosion next to them - before it even happened - though Jongin did not know about this until later, having surprise teleported away at the loud sound.

 It took a while before anyone connected the fact that touching Jongdae always led to an electric shock to his power. And Chanyeol’s power was glaringly obvious after he almost burned their table down during one dinner.

 But Sehun’s power was a bit more elusive, and the only reason for why Jongin learned it before they started with their fighting training was because they shared a room.

 One night, Jongin woke up to the feeling of wind across his face, and confused he blinked his eyes open just in time to be hit straight in the face with one of his textbooks. There was a literal storm in their room, lighter things flying already, and heavier starting as well. And even if Jongin had not known there was another mutant in the room, it was clear that Sehun was the origin of the storm, lying in the eye of it.

 As the wind picked up even more, Jongin tried to get out of his bed and over to Sehun’s, in hope of waking the other would calm the storm, but having to fight against the wind and simultaneously dodge flying things proved too hard. Sinking down onto his bed, Jongin tried to quickly think through his options, wondering if he should get someone else, or try to deal with on his own. But teleporting away and have someone come to the room seemed like it would take an unnecessarily long time, and so Jongin decided to teleport. But into Sehun’s bed.

 Groaning a little over his stupid plan, Jongin tried to focus as much as possible on the small area he was supposed to land in; he was not yet completely in control of his teleporting, and just hoped he would make it without actually killing Sehun or himself in the process.

 Lying down on his stomach, Jongin squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath, before willing his body to poof out and in of existence. When he collided with something solid that grunted, Jongin opened his eyes in surprise, staring down into Sehun’s wide open ones.

 “Woah, I made i-” Jongin’s celebration of a successful jump was cut off by the sound of things falling to the floor around them, and both boys jumped a little and looked around.

 “What happened?” Sehun asked in a slightly breathless voice, so Jongin decided that it was probably time to roll off the younger.

 “I don’t know, I woke up to a wind blowing in here, and then it started to pick up and so I teleported over to you to hopefully wake you up and not have a giant storm in our room,” Jongin said as he sat up.

 Eyes growing wide, Sehun scrambled to sit up against the headboard, pulling his cover up to cover the lower part of his face.

 “I-I’m sorry,” he mumbled, words almost not audible through his cover. “I… When I have bad dreams, my powers sorta go crazy…”

 Pursing his lips in thought, Jongin gave a nod. “Makes sense, makes sense… So your power is storms?”

 Sehun looked a bit surprised, and Jongin could not help but wonder if something had happened that had made Sehun feel so bad about his power.

 “Um, no, it’s wind,” Sehun finally answered. “I can control wind.”

 “Yeah, that makes more sense than storm,” Jongin slowly said, rubbing his chin. “But that’s really cool, though!”

 Sehun let his cover slip down a little, exposing his face again, as he frowned.

 “How is it cool? Teleportation is much cooler?”

 “No, oh no, not at all!” Jongin hurried out, shaking his head as he got up on his knees. “I can get to places really quickly, even places I wouldn’t be able to go to without teleporting, but you are so much more powerful! In a fight I’m basically useless, I can’t take people down, but you can knock them down! Really powerful storms can tear apart houses, right? That’s super powerful!”

 Sehun looked a bit hesitant about Jongin’s explanation, but slowly gave a small smile.

 “I guess it’s kinda cool…,” Sehun mumbled, looking down at his bed, and Jongin broke out into a large grin.

 “Totally cool!”

 

 “Come on, dude, you gotta risk some to gain some!”

 Jongin turned to find a clearly flustered Baekhyun surrounded by Jongdae and Chanyeol, both with determined expressions on their faces. They were glancing over towards something every now and then, and following their line of sight, Jongin saw that it was a group of girls they were looking at.

 “Hey, Jongin,” someone said, and Jongin looked to his side to find Kyungsoo walking up next to him, a smile on his face.

 “Hi, hyung… What’s going on?” Jongin asked, nodding in the direction of the three boys.

 Confused, Kyungsoo frowned slightly as he looked to where Jongin had motioned, before his features smoothened out.

 “Oh. Baekhyun has a crush on one of the girls, Taeyeon I think it is,” Kyungsoo explained in a hushed voice, forcing Jongin to lean a bit closer to hear him. “And I’m guessing Jongdae and Chanyeol are trying to convince him to do something about it.”

 There were hissed whispers and low threats, but as Jongin and Kyungsoo stood watching, Baekhyun was finally pushed forwards by his supposed best friends, shooting them glares before realizing that the girls had stopped talking and were now looking at him. Freezing on the spot, Baekhyun’s cheeks turned even more pink, the tips of his hair starting to glow. Wary of a possible light burst blinding them, Jongin and Kyungsoo huddled a bit closer to each other, hands poised and ready to shield their eyes.

 But, surprisingly, the light burst never came, as Baekhyun shook his head and cleared his throat.

 “Taeyeon, do you want to go out with me?” Baekhyun rushed out, voice a little bit squeaky and cracking in a few places, but sounding surprisingly clear and confident considering what a nervous mess he looked like, hands balled into fists by his sides.

 Jongin’s mouth dropped open, glancing over at Kyungsoo who looked just as shocked. They shared a surprised look, before looking back at the scene in front of them.

 Taeyeon’s cheeks turned a pretty light pink, obviously also surprised by it all, the girls around her whispering and giggling. Then her lips curled into a cute smile, and she nodded.

 “Okay,” she said, and Jongin was pretty sure Baekhyun was about to faint, that was how relieved he looked.

 “Okay…,” Baekhyun echoed, before a bright grin spread on his lips. “Okay. Okay, great! I-I’ll talk to you later?”

 Taeyeon gave a nod as she giggled, and it seemed to make Baekhyun grin even brighter, a few strands of his hair now glimmering softly as well, before he turned and rushed away, towards Jongdae and Chanyeol who were both still standing frozen in shock.

 “I… Did not expect that,” Kyungsoo slowly said, Jongin shaking his head in agreement, as they watched the three boys race down the corridor, hearing a strangled squeal from most likely Baekhyun. “I’m actually pretty impressed?”

 “Me too, hyung,” Jongin mumbled, still a bit shell-shocked. “Whoa, Baekhyun-hyung is pretty cool…”

 “What, do you have anyone you want to confess to?” Kyungsoo asked, turning to Jongin with a raised eyebrow.

 Immediately, Jongin’s face went up in flames, and he profusely shook his head.

 “W-what, no! I just find it cool that he dared doing it!” Jongin stammered out, slumping a little as Kyungsoo began to laugh.

 “Okay, okay, don’t have to be so defensive, Jongin, I believe you,” Kyungsoo said, before holding up a pinky. “Promise to tell me when you do, though, so I can hype you up and give your butt a kick when you try to chicken out.”

 Defeated, Jongin dropped his head as he held up a pinky, letting Kyungsoo connect them.

 “I don’t know if I really should agree to this,” Jongin sighed, even though it was already too late. “I feel it might be a danger to my life…”

 Kyungsoo snorted as he shook their still connected hands. “I’m much nicer than Chanyeol and Jongdae, you know that. I’ll be gentle, I promise!”

 Jongin looked up at Kyungsoo for a moment, before shrugging.

 “I actually believe you when you say it, so I guess it’s true.”

 Kyungsoo burst out laughing again, as he pulled Jongin along with him.

 

 Jongin was sitting in his and Sehun’s room, reading, when the door was suddenly slammed open. Jumping in surprise, Jongin felt his body start to disintegrate, but quickly tried to rein it in. Taking deep breaths, he looked up, glaring at whoever it had been who scared him, softening a bit when he realized it was Sehun and Seulgi. Sehun was trying to hold back a laughter - and very much failing - whilst Seulgi looked as if she was on the verge of tears.

 “Uh, hello? What’s going on?” Jongin asked as he closed his book and put it down on his bed.

 Sehun finally burst out into unconstrained laughter, collapsing down on his bed as Seulgi closed the door and muttered an ‘asshole’ under her breath. As she stalked over to Jongin’s bed, Jongin shifted back a little in fear, before Seulgi let out a sigh and flopped down face first on Jongin’s bed, scream muted by Jongin’s cover.

 “Okay, but can someone tell me what’s going on?” Jongin asked, lightly patting Seulgi’s head and feeling so incredibly confused.

 Sehun seemed to calm down a little, whining over belly ache, before rolling over onto his side and looking up at Jongin.

 “Wow, okay, I’ll try to tell you…,” Sehun began, before he pressed his lips closed. It did not help, though, as he soon burst out laughing yet again.

 Screaming again, Seulgi then rolled over onto her back, staring at the ceiling with a frown.

 “I’m probably going to have to move away, leave the country, get myself a new identity,” Seulgi whispered, prompting even higher pitched laughter from Sehun. “I don’t even know why it happened, but I saw it as it was happening, so I guess my power won’t always save me from embarrassing myself…”

 Jongin raised an eyebrow, still confused. “And how did you embarrass yourself?”

 “She thought the new kid was you and attacked him!” Sehun yelled, falling to the floor from laughing too hard.

 “Uh, you did what now?” Jongin asked Seulgi, not even bothering with looking at Sehun who was an obvious mess and not worth it.

 Seulgi exhaled forcefully and threw an arm over her eyes, a wobbly pout on her lips.

 “I thought I’d sneak up on you, you know, to see if you’d be able to stay in place or not, since you’ve been practicing that,” Seulgi clearly rambled, but Jongin let her continue, just trying his best to keep up, “and I probably should’ve noticed but he looks a lot like you and I don’t know, I threw my arm around his shoulder and as I was doing it I got a vision and saw it wasn’t you but it was too late and then I really saw it and I just felt so stupid-”

 “Breathe, Seul, breathe,” Jongin reminded the girl as he patted her arm, and she did as told, dragging in a few breaths.

 “So, uh, yeah, I made a fool out of myself and know I won’t be able to show my face in this school anymore,” Seulgi finished up in a small voice that had Jongin feel rather bad for her.

 But before Jongin could offer some comfort, there was a knock on the door, and Jongin looked up to see Kyungsoo open it, a smile on his face that quickly turned into a frown of confusion.

 “Hey, Jongin! And Seulgi…? And what is Sehun doing on the floor?” Kyungsoo asked, looking more and more confused with each word out of his mouth.

 “Seulgi is dying from embarrassment and Sehun is dying from laughter,” Jongin answered, looking over at Sehun who was looking rather pained. “He’s probably actually about to die, I haven’t seen him breathe in a while now.”

 That tore a choked and rather panicked giggle out of Sehun, and more tears streamed down his face.

 “Why are they dying?” Kyungsoo asked, stepping into the room and letting the person who was apparently standing behind him step inside as well.

 As soon as the new guy stepped inside, Sehun gave a loud gasp that prompted Seulgi to remove her arm enough to peek over, before she shrieked and rolled over to bury her face against Jongin’s hip. Incredibly confused, Jongin looked up at Kyungsoo who looked just as confused - but the guy next to Kyungsoo did not look confused at all.

 “Oh, haha, it’s you again!” the other guy said, Seulgi giving a small whimper. “She’s the girl who thought I was someone else!”

 Jongin’s mouth opened into an ‘o’ as the confusion cleared, before he squinted over at the guy.

 “I guess we look kinda similar,” Jongin slowly said, finally taking pity on Kyungsoo and explaining. “Seulgi thought he was me, so she sneaked up on him.”

 “Oh. Wow,” Kyungsoo said, clearly trying to hold back a smile, but it did not matter as Seulgi was still hiding anyway. “Anyway, this is Taemin, my roommate.”

 Taemin, who was squinting right back at Jongin, let up to give a smile, before going back to squinting.

 “I can see the similarities that might make people mistake us,” Taemin said, before shrugging. “Could be pretty fun.”

 “Fun for what?” Jongin asked.

 “For pranks,” Taemin answered, giving a wink.

 “Well, the trio is going to love him…,” Kyungsoo said with a small sigh, and Jongin nodded in agreement. “Anyway, we’re here to make introductions, and we need to continue on with the tour, so we’ll see you for dinner later.”

 “No,” Seulgi moaned into the bed, and it was just barely audible.

 “Yeah, we will,” Jongin said, once more going back to patting Seulgi’s head. “Nice meeting you, Taemin!”

 “You too,” Taemin grinned. “And don’t worry too much about mistaking me, Seulgi, it was fun!”

 Seulgi obviously did not share the sentiment, as she gave a sob that probably only Jongin heard.

 After Kyungsoo and Taemin had left, Jongin turned to Sehun, who was still lying on the floor, eyes closed, tear tracks down his temples.

 “Hey, you still alive over there?” Jongin called out, noticing how Sehun’s fingers twitched where they were lying across his stomach.

 “Nope,” Sehun answered in a weak voice.

 “Okay,” Jongin nodded, glancing between his two messes of friends.

 Something was always going on at the Academy.


	2. Chapter 2

**2009 {15}**

 

 There was a buzz to the Academy today, Jongin noted. As he walked through the hallways to class, there seemed to people whispering to each other at every corner, and he wondered what was going on.

 “Hey,” Jongin said as he sat down next to Sehun, who was lying with his head propped up on his arms, looking about half a second away from falling asleep. “Do you know what’s going on?”

 “Hm?” Sehun asked, popping an eye open, glancing over at the people excitedly whispering around them. “Ah, right, new students. Two sisters.”

 Jongin frowned, once more looking around. People seemed _very_ interested in this.

 “Do you think they get this excited when I arrived as well?” he asked, poking Sehun’s head to wake the boy.

 “I don’t know, stop bothering me, I need my beauty sleep!” Sehun whined, swatting at Jongin’s hand.

 “Too late, the teacher is here,” Jongin noted, and Sehun sat up with a grumble, shooting Jongin a glare. “Hey, not my fault you’re not getting enough sleep, don’t be mad at me!”

 Sehun gave a deep sigh, before he opened his books, and turned forwards.

 

 The first glimpse Jongin got of the new students was during lunch. They were being shown around the school by Junmyeon, who seemed to be the go-to welcome party. Jongin did not see much more than dark hair, faces turned away from where he was sitting.

 “I heard that the younger sister is the same age as you two,” Taemin said as he slid into a seat opposite Jongin and Sehun. “She’ll probably end up in the same classes as you.”

 “Depending on what she knows already, of course,” Kyungsoo said as he slid into the seat next to Taemin, eyes flickering over to the sisters. “She might end up with us, you know.”

 Taemin inclined his head at that. “True. I heard they grew up in the US, and moved here a while back.”

 Jongin tuned them out as he looked over at the sisters again, absently wondering what kind of powers they had. It was always a curiosity, to see what they were able to do, and even though no one actually asked - okay, Baekhyun did sometimes - everybody wanted to know.

 Oh well, they would find out sooner and later, and with that, Jongin turned back to his food.

 

 “I still don’t understand why we have to do this,” Jongin said, voice a bit whiny, as he looked over at Kyungsoo.

 The older was standing a few meters away, stretching a little, and Jongin felt a bit intimidated by it.

 “Because I’m strong, and I can easily take you down, so I’m good for you to practice on,” Kyungsoo drawled, sounding as if he had repeated the words several times.

 Which he had. Every time they were practicing together, Jongin said the same thing, and Kyungsoo answered with the same thing.

 “Still though,” Jongin grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.

 “Stop pouting and attack,” Kyungsoo ordered, and with a sigh, Jongin obeyed.

 No matter how he tried to get out of it, Jongin always complied in the end.

 Crouching down a little, Jongin forced himself to focus on the present, limit himself to the room they were standing in, and give up some of the control to his instincts. His body was created for teleporting, and it knew what to do and would do it faster than his conscious thought, so it was easier for him to just give up some control.

 Rushing forwards, Jongin popped out of existence and then into it again, right in front of Kyungsoo. But the smaller had no troubles in blocking Jongin’s hit; after all, Kyungsoo had been training for longer, and was getting rather used to Jongin by now.

 Gritting his teeth, feeling his inner competitive spirit awaken, Jongin tried again, and again, and again. He was getting better at teleporting away before Kyungsoo managed to get a grip on him and keep him in place - Jongin not yet having mastered to teleport away with someone else, especially not Kyungsoo who was always surprisingly grounded. Slipping in and out, it almost became a blur of limbs hitting and parrying, confusing Jongin before he stopped thinking too much.

 And then, Jongin was in front of Kyungsoo, hand on his chest, before Kyungsoo had the time to react. Pushing, Jongin found himself down on one knee, keeping Kyungsoo pressed into the ground.

 Half a second went past, the blink of an eye, and then reality crashed down upon them as they locked shocked gazes.

 “Oh my _god_! Hyung, I’m so sorry!” Jongin stammered, falling backwards onto his butt as he scrambled backwards.

 Kyungsoo just laid on his back for a few more seconds, before slowly sitting up, wincing and rubbing the back of his head.

 “Are you hurt?! I’m so sorry!” Jongin rambled, apologizing over and over again, until Kyungsoo simply put a hand over his mouth to silence him.

 “Stop apologizing,” Kyungsoo sternly said, removing his hand, before blinding Jongin with a brilliant smile. “You did really well, Nini! I’m really proud of you!”

 Relaxing and slumping down a little, Jongin felt a blush creep up to cover his entire face. Looking down at his fingers, Jongin pressed the tips of his index fingers together.

 “Thank you, hyung…,” Jongin mumbled, tiny flames of happiness warming his insides. “Though I’m still sorry about your head.”

 Kyungsoo sighed as he stood up and held out hand to help Jongin up as well. “That’s what happens when you train, and it’s already better so don’t worry. Let’s go again!”

 Jongin’s protests were completely ignored, and they began anew with the training.

 

 The first real look Jongin got of one of the sisters was during class. Like Taemin had predicted, Soojung was put into the same class as Jongin, Sehun and Seulgi, being the same age and around the same knowledge level. She did not look as different as Jongin had expected, seeing as she grew up in the US, but she was cute.

 And she was very good at English, something Jongin and Seulgi quickly picked up as they were put in the same group as her during an English project. Maybe it was not so surprising, but it was one thing to hear a rumor about something, and actually hear it in person.

 After realizing that Soojung was a rather nice and friendly person, yet slightly strange, she was quickly dragged into the gang, in no time at all being accepted by everyone there.

  


**2010 {16}**

 

 Jongin had no idea how it had happened, considering they were in a house full of mutants with different abilities, but somehow it had. ‘It’ being a secret party with alcohol, underage people invited - him being one of them.

 People were sitting all over the place, and Jongin had been dragged into a round of Truth or Dare. So far, he had kept away from alcohol, not really feeling like it was an experience he wanted just yet, but far from everyone had had the same sentiment as he had.

 He was seated in between Taemin and Soojung, feeling a little lost, as people were screaming and laughing around him, some music being played but drowned out by chattering. Both Baekhyun and Jongdae were in the game, Seulgi lost in the crowd, and Kyungsoo, Chanyeol and Sehun were standing a bit away, talking in between themselves, and Jongin wished he had gone to them instead of letting Taemin and Soojung whisk him away. But, here he was now, no point in feeling sorry for himself.

 “Jonginnie!” Baekhyun suddenly burst out, forcing Jongin’s focus back to the game, and he looked down to find the bottle pointing in his direction. “Truth or dare?”

 “Ah…,” Jongin hesitated, getting a smile from Baekhyun.

 “Don’t worry, Jonginnie, I like you, I won’t be too harsh on you,” Baekhyun reassured him, and Jongin actually felt rather reassured.

 He should have thought about how low Baekhyun’s ‘harsh’ level was, but Jongin did not do this. Sometimes he had troubles remembering how not-so-good his friends could be.

 “Dare?” Jongin carefully said, earning himself cheers from around the place. Soojung snickered as Taemin patted his back, Baekhyun and Jongdae throwing their hands into the air and ‘whoop’-ing.

 Starting to feel slightly more afraid, Jongin looked up at the three standing close by, who were all watching him with amused expressions as he tried to communicate his fear, and his wish to be saved. Chanyeol gave a grin as he shook his head, Sehun laughing behind a hand, and Kyungsoo raising an eyebrow as if to say ‘Your own fault, lol’. Jongin sighed and looked back at Baekhyun, who was looking very concentrated.

 “So… Not too harsh, huh…,” Baekhyun mumbled, tapping his lower lip with a finger. “Oh, wait, how about kissing your neighbors? Quick kisses on the lips, no tongue involved?”

 Some of the gathered began to protest over the mildness of the dare, whilst Jongin, on the other hand, began to blush.

 Because Jongin had never kissed anyone before. He had been 13 when he arrived at the Academy, so he had not really experimented before that, and during his stay at the Academy, there had not really been… Any interest in doing so, at least not enough to actually do anything about it.

 And so, Jongin was about to lose his kiss virginity. And give two kisses away in quick succession. Jongin was not sure if he was really ready for this.

 “You have a pass you can use,” Taemin leaned in to whisper, and Jongin flinched and looked over at him. “If you don’t want to do something, you can say ‘pass’ and not have to do it. You only have one pass, though, so…”

 Chewing on his lower lip and debating what to do, Jongin started to think logically about it. He did not have to do it for any prolonged amount of time, it was just a quick kiss on the lips, no tongue. He had seen himself doing it a bit more romantically… But a kiss could still be romantic even if it was not his first. Why was first kisses seen as such special things, really? Oh, but he was digressing now, and he should really make up his mind.

 Inhaling deeply, Jongin grabbed Taemin’s face and pressed their lips together for about a second, before releasing him, turning, and doing the same to Soojung. His face felt as if it was about to go up in flames as he pulled back and faced forwards again, eyes trained on his fidgeting fingers in his lap.

 There was a silence settling over the Truth or Dare group, but Jongin did not dare look up. He had done what he was supposed to do, and that was it!

 “Well, shit. Awesome, dude!” Jongdae burst out, and just like that, the spell was broken, and people began to cheer around him.

 “See, you did good, Jonginnie!” Baekhyun cackled, and Jongin sent him a small frown. “Oh, please, I was nice to you, spin the bottle!”

 Reaching out, Jongin spun the bottle, and the game started anew.

 

 It was not until later that Jongin thought about the kiss again.

 Lying in the safety of his bed, he gingerly touched his lips with two fingers. They did not _feel_ any different… Though a part of him thought they should (which was stupid, really, it was just a kiss. Two kisses. Whatever).

 It had been… Soft. Kissing someone was soft. And Jongin sort of thought he liked it, even with his lacking experience. The thought of it, and the very light kisses of tonight, made him believe that kisses were nice.

 Yes. He would not mind kissing again. But maybe the next time he would kiss someone properly, and not through a stupid dare. Yeah, that sounded like a good idea.

 Turning over, Jongin went to sleep, dreaming of soft lips against his lips.

 

 “Hey, hyung?” Jongin asked Kyungsoo one day as they were sitting in the library, supposed to study, but Jongin’s thoughts were a bit preoccupied.

 “Hm?” Kyungsoo hummed, nose still in his textbook.

 “Have you ever kissed someone?”

 Slowly, Kyungsoo put his pen down, before looking up at Jongin with narrowed eyes.

 “Why…? Has this something to do with your dare? Because I’m not going to help you explore your curiosity over it.”

 Jongin tilted his head to the side, before sputtering, his entire face feeling as if it was on fire.

 “What, no! That’s not- what- _hyung!_ I wasn’t going to ask something like that!” Jongin exclaimed, feeling rather mortified.

 “So you wouldn’t want to kiss me?” Kyungsoo shot back, a small pout on his lips, and Jongin groaned and threw his hands into the air.

 “I don’t know?!” Jongin said, falling back against the chair and putting his hands over his face. “I was just going to ask if you’ve ever kissed someone and what it felt like…”

 “Okay, okay, I’m sorry,” Kyungsoo chuckled, and Jongin glared at him through the spaces between his fingers. “Yes, I’ve kissed someone, and it feels… Soft and warm, I guess is the best way to describe it? Why are you asking?”

 Jongin sighed and put his head on the desk. “I don’t know? I thought kisses were supposed to be magical, you know, with the fireworks and everything? But it wasn’t like that, it was nice, but not explosive?”

 “Oh, sweet little Nini,” Kyungsoo cooed, as he patted Jongin’s head. “Firework kisses are for when you’re kissing someone you _really_ like. Not a quick peck during a drunken game, but for when you’re so crazy about each other that you don’t need air, just to be closer to the other, swallowing all that they are.”

 Jongin thought about that for a little while, and it did somewhat make sense. Turning his head, he blinked up at Kyungsoo, who had picked up his pen again and gotten back to his studies.

 “Have you ever felt like that during a kiss, hyung?” Jongin asked.

 Kyungsoo looked over at Jongin, a small, soft smile appearing on his lips.

 “Not yet.”

  


**2011 {17}**

 

 Spring arrived, and with it, a whole other atmosphere to the school. And a whole other perspective to Jongin.

 He knew it had started some while ago, but he was not sure just when. All he knew was that it had recently begun to develop even more, and that he was looking at things in a different light.

 Or rather, a _someone_ in a different light.

 “Do I have something on my face, Nini?” Soojung asked, frowning a little.

 Jongin shook himself out of his stupor to quickly shake his head. “What, no, sorry, I was… Thinking…”

 Soojung’s frown deepened, but there was a confused smile on her lips as well.

 “ _Oh_ -kay? And what were you thinking of that had you staring at me?”

 “Ah, nothing, it was nothing, I was just spacing out a little,” Jongin said, bending his head over his homework to hide his flaming cheeks.

 Jongin heard Soojung take a breath to speak, but before she could, someone else butted in.

 “Soojunggie!” Taemin beamed as he suddenly sat next to Soojung on the bench, an arm around her shoulders, the light purple fizzing around him the only traces of his use of his empowered speed.

 “Oh, god, what do you want?” Soojung muttered, leaning as far away as she could - which was not far considering Taemin had a pretty good hold on her.

 Jongin absently began to calculate how he could free Soojung, considering he would probably teleport away with them both since Taemin was holding on to Soojung, before he caught himself. Why did he need to save Soojung? It was not like Taemin was being mean to her or anything, just clingy and pretty darn annoying…

 Feeling rather horrified with himself, Jongin looked down at his notebook again, chewing on the inside of his cheek to try to calm himself down and stop his stupid thoughts, but they seemed to have attached themselves to his brain and refused to dissipate.

 At the sound of Soojung’s laughter, Jongin’s head immediately snapped up, eyes widening. Taemin had pulled Soojung even closer, grinning as he tickled her, and it looked so disgustingly lovey-dovey that Jongin felt like he was about to puke all over them.

 Slamming his books closed, Jongin did not even look at his friends before he stumbled up from where he was sitting, muttering an apology or something under his breath before he hurried away.

 He wished he could teleport away, but his rollercoaster of emotions did not allow him to.

 

 The festering feeling inside of Jongin did not go away as he lay in bed that evening, trying to at least escape it for a while through sleep.

 Sighing, Jongin sat up and wondered what he could do to make it all stop, but not really finding any way. He guessed he needed to talk about it, but he could not just bring it up with Soojung or Taemin. And that left only one person he trusted enough to talk to about everything - at least most of everything…

 Jongin quickly sent a text to Kyungsoo, asking if he could come over, and as soon as he received an affirmative, Jongin teleported over to Kyungsoo’s room.

 “Hey, hyung…,” Jongin mumbled as he plopped himself down onto Kyungsoo’s bed.

 “Holy shit!” Kyungsoo exclaimed, turning around with wide eyes, hand pressed against his chest. “I thought you were walking over here!”

 “Oh, sorry,” Jongin said, grimacing. “Should’ve specified, but I didn’t want anyone to see me…”

 Kyungsoo dropped his pen down on top of the desk before turning to Jongin with a raised brow.

 “And why is that?”

 Jongin suddenly found immense interest in Kyungsoo’s cover, tracing the squiggly lines with a finger as he pretended not to have heard Kyungsoo’s question.

 “Jongin.”

 Jongin hummed, lips slowly forming a pout.

 “Why did you want to avoid people so much that you teleported unannounced into my room? And why are you pouting?”

 “I’m not pouting,” Jongin mumbled, still very much pouting. “It’s just… Have you ever felt jealous?”

 Kyungsoo made a small noise, and Jongin looked up to find him sitting with his hand cradling his cheek, eyes turned towards the ceiling as he was thinking.

 “I… Guess so? What kind of jealousy are we talking about, though?” Kyungsoo asked, glancing over at Jongin again. “Do you have a crush on someone?”

 Caught completely off guard - because how had Kyungsoo managed to guess that? - Jongin felt his cheeks explode with heat. He bent his head as he pushed his hands between his thighs, pressing his legs together.

 “Uh, I- uhm… No…?” Jongin tried, immediately being met by a snort. “...maybe?”

 “Is our little Jonginnie having a crush?” Kyungsoo teased, and Jongin could _hear_ the grin on his lips. “Blushing, so cute… Who is it, though?”

 “I’m especially not telling you,” Jongin muttered, glancing up at Kyungsoo with what he hoped was a glare - but probably was not. “I came here for advice, and you’re just being… Mean. Really mean!”

 Kyungsoo burst out laughing, before he got up from the chair and walked over to the bed, sitting down next to Jongin and reaching out to pat his back.

 “I’m sorry, you’re just so adorable,” Kyungsoo chuckled. “But really, tell me who it is, let me help. I promise I’ll help for real this time.”

 Jongin glanced over at Kyungsoo one more time, before hiding his face in his hands. He mumbled something into his palms, suddenly so very embarrassed to say it out loud.

 “What was that?” Kyungsoo asked, leaning a bit closer. “Sorry, didn’t quite catch it…”

 “Uhn… Soojung,” Jongin finally sighed, before putting his face down on his knees. It was a rather uncomfortable position, but it also allowed him to hide himself pretty well, plus the fact that it was pretty comforting to be basically folded in on himself.

 “Soojung? Can’t say I’m surprised.”

 Jongin looked up in shock - he _himself_ was surprised, so why was not Kyungsoo surprised?

 Obviously noticing Jongin’s shocked expression, Kyungsoo shrugged and smiled.

 “You’ve been pretty close to her for a while now, and you did kiss her that time during truth or dare,” Kyungsoo said, chuckling as Jongin groaned. “Hormones are also doing their job well, it seems. Also, I’ve seen how you look at her. So, what’s your problem?”

 It was too much information to take in. He had been obvious? Kyungsoo already knew? Who else already knew?!

 “Stop freaking out, I don’t think she knows,” Kyungsoo said, mirth in his voice, as he rubbed Jongin’s back comfortingly. “Is that your problem?”

 Jongin sighed as he slowly sat up, wincing a little at how his back was already hurting some from the position.

 “No… Or, well, I guess now it is, I didn’t think about it before…,” Jongin said, glancing behind him. “Can I?”

 Kyungsoo nodded as he scooted over a little, and Jongin fell back with a groan.

 “...I think Taemin likes her.”

 There was a stunned silence for a while, before Kyungsoo burst out laughing, so loud it echoed around in the small room. Jongin shot Kyungsoo a sullen look as the older tried to control himself, pressing a hand over his mouth.

 “I don’t see what’s so fun about my hopeless love life,” Jongin muttered, prompting Kyungsoo to laugh even harder.

 “Your ‘hopeless love life’?” Kyungsoo snorted, wiping a few tears away. “Wow, over-dramatic much… Anyway, no, I don’t think so. I’m _pretty_ sure Taemin isn’t after your girl.”

 Jongin blushed as he muttered ‘she’s not my girl’ under his breath.

 “No, but really, go for it,” Kyungsoo said, poking Jongin’s cheek and making him whine. “Ask her out or something, a movie night is a good way to go, and see how it goes. You might be surprised.”

 Sighing a little, Jongin looked up at the roof, the white disappearing as he sunk down into his thoughts.

 Ask Soojung out on a movie night? That seemed rather… Straightforward. But maybe that was sort of the point, to be straightforward. After all, how many relationships began with no straightforward...ness? Too bad Jongin was somewhat socially stunted, because having to be straightforward was kind of scaring him - a lot.

 “Stop overthinking it,” Kyungsoo suddenly said, pulling Jongin out of his thoughts. He was smiling softly, patting Jongin’s head, and Jongin took comfort in the touch. “I’m 99 percent sure she’ll say yes. To both a date and being your girlfriend. I know it’s scary, but if you’re not risking it, how are you supposed to gain something?”

 “You need to stop being so freaking logical and stuff,” Jongin muttered, rolling into a ball on Kyungsoo’s bed. “I’m just going to stay here and rot away, and not do anything scary!”

 “Hey, this is _my_ bed! Go rot somewhere else!” Kyungsoo chuckled, nudging Jongin, but Jongin did not budge.

 “Nope, I claimed it, it’s mine! Find your own bed, hyung!”

 “You know I can quite easily remove you, right?”

 “I’ll just teleport right back, and I have faith in your love for me for you to not be able to move me.”

 “Goddammit, what a little brat you are…”

 “And yet you still love me. You ain’t that smart really, are you, hyung?”

 “Okay, but I swear on everything, if you keep this up, I’ll tell Soojung what you just told me.”

 “No, hyung! You can’t be that mean _to me!_ ”

 

 Just like Kyungsoo had predicted, when Jongin finally managed to summon enough courage, Soojung immediately accepted. Both were rather surprised by Soojung’s rather sudden outburst, and they ended up just standing without talking, both blushing and with their eyes glued to the ground. At least until Taemin found them, quickly putting two and two together, and began to tease them.

 Mortification was Jongin’s new form.

 But it all seemed rather worth it as Jongin and Soojung went on their first date, seeing a movie in the nearby town. Thanks to Jongin’s ability to teleport, they did not even have to sit on a bus or anything like that for a prolonged time, and Jongin felt rather happy about missing out on that awkwardness.

 Plus, the teleportation gave Jongin an excuse to hold Soojung’s hand. It was soft and small compared to his own, and Jongin really, _really_ , hoped that Soojung did not notice just how nervous he was through his sweaty hands. He had wiped them off on his jeans a few times, so they should be alright!

 The night was rather perfectly ended as Soojung gave Jongin a goodnight kiss after he had dropped her off next to her room. It was short, more a quick peck than an actual kiss, but it still had Jongin blushing all the way up to his roots. And if he was not imagining things, there was a pretty blush on Soojung’s cheeks as well as she quickly ducked into her room.

 Teleporting into his own room, Jongin severely misjudged his landing and ended up collapsing in a heap on the floor, but he really did not care. He was so happy, so incredibly _elated_ , that he did not mind the pain in his back and butt. He was sure that the grin on his lips was now forever etched into them, and nothing could wipe it off.

 High on giddiness, Jongin went through the entire next day still grinning like an idiot. And when Soojung took his hand, blushing cutely, Jongin felt as if he was either about to explode or faint. Apparently they were both insufferable for about two weeks after their first date, according to most of their friends. Junmyeon found it adorable, though, and would coo every time he saw them together. It made Jongin inwardly preen, until both Taemin and Kyungsoo told him that it was pretty outwardly as well.

 After a few months of slowly exploring previously unknown territory, Jongin and Soojung decided to take a rather large step in their relationship. They decided to give their virginities to each other. Both were nervous, and it was a rather clumsy and awkward affair, but they made it work. It was too quickly over and not that great, but it was a step they took together, and that made it all the more sweet.

 And Jongin was just really glad that he did not end up accidentally teleporting away in the middle of it, because that would have been so incredibly awkward.

 

 As Jongin easily got used to the routine of Soojung, he had a harder time getting used to the routine of not spending as much time with his friends on his own, especially Kyungsoo. Considering how close Taemin was to both Jongin and Soojung, he was almost the third part of their relationship, but Kyungsoo was closest to Jongin, and so Kyungsoo did not hang around as much.

 “Hyung, it almost feels as if you’re avoiding me,” Jongin said, pouting, during one of the rare times when he and Kyungsoo managed to spend some time together.

 “Don’t be silly, Nini, why would I do that?” Kyungsoo asked, glancing up to give Jongin a smile, before glancing down the textbook in front of him.

 “I don’t know,” Jongin muttered, placing his arms on the table between them and propping his head up. “It just feels like it… Do you think me and Soojung are too much? Is that why?”

 Kyungsoo stopped writing, sitting still for a second, before sighing and putting his pen down. Crossing his arms, he put them on the table as well, looking up at Jongin with an unreadable expression.

 “Sometimes I feel like I’m in the way,” Kyungsoo slowly began, holding up a hand to stop Jongin from talking. “I’m your best friend, yes, but she ranks higher than me, and I don’t want to come between you. And sometimes it gets a bit too much, yes. A painful reminder that I’m very much single still.”

 Even though Kyungsoo’s last sentence had been said jokingly, Jongin could not appreciate it fully.

 “Kyungsoo… It doesn’t work like that, she doesn’t rank higher than you,” Jongin said in a low voice, shaking his head. “It’s different, it’s two different things. You rank on the same level, but in two different categories, she’s not more important than you, don’t think that…”

 Looking down at the table, Kyungsoo nodded, but there was something in his expression that let Jongin know that there was still something wrong.

 “Hyung, I promise, you’re still important to me, and I promise I’ll be a better friend,” Jongin said, leaning forwards a bit more to try to catch Kyungsoo’s eyes again. “I’ve been sorta neglecting you, haven’t I?”

 Kyungsoo sat up straighter, putting a finger in the middle of Jongin’s forehead and pushed him back, a small smile on his face.

 “Newly in love and all that stuff, it’s to be expected,” Kyungsoo said, chuckling as Jongin protested. “I’m fine, Jongin, you don’t have to go out of the way, I’d rather not have Soojung hate me for stealing you away. I actually like her, she’s a good choice for you!”

 Groaning, Jongin buried his heated face in his hands, feeling embarrassed by Kyungsoo’s words, with Kyungsoo laughing at him.

 

 “Me and Taeyeon broke up,” Baekhyun blurted out during one dinner, prompting gasps and chokes from all around the table. “Just… Thought you guys should know.”

 Soojung was the first one to recover, letting go of Jongin’s hand and leaning forwards a little.

 “Are you okay, Baekhyun-hyung?” she asked, and Baekhyun looked up in surprise.

 “Ah, yeah, kinda?” Baekhyun answered, giving a sad smile. “It was an agreement between us both, we talked about it and agreed on the conclusion that we should break up, so it wasn’t really anything sudden. It just feels a bit weird, I guess?”

 The table was uncharacteristically quiet after that, awkwardness clear in everyone’s eyes and movements. But what did you say to a friend who had just ended a three year old relationship? ‘Everything will be okay’ and ‘You’ll be fine’ seemed a bit callous to go for at the moment, and so the rest of dinner was spent sending each other panicked glances with Baekhyun ignoring them.

 Only Chanyeol and Jongdae did not seem shocked, rather more somber, but that was not a surprise. They were the ones closest to Baekhyun, after all, and had probably gotten to know soon after it had happened.

 Later that same evening, as Jongin was walking back after having dropped Soojung off at her room, he came across Baekhyun and Chanyeol. They were walking slowly together, mumbling about something that Jongin was too far away to be able to hear, when Baekhyun suddenly came to a stop. Being behind them, Jongin could not see what had happened, but from how Baekhyun lifted a hand to his face, shoulders trembling lightly, Jongin could make a pretty good guess.

 Chanyeol placed a hand on Baekhyun’s back, rubbing his neck, before pulling Baekhyun into a one-armed hug. As Jongin heard a small sob, he teleported away, giving Baekhyun some privacy.

 Jongin had never seen Baekhyun cry, barely even seen him truly angry, and Jongin suspected it was not something that Baekhyun really _wanted_ others to see.


	3. Chapter 3

**2012 {18}**

 

 “Hey, Jongin,” Kyungsoo said, giving a small smile, but Jongin could immediately tell that something was off.

 “Hi…? What’s going on?” Jongin slowly asked as he came to a stop next to Kyungsoo, noticing the folder in his hands. “What’s that?”

 Kyungsoo bit down on his lower lip, worrying it a little as a wrinkle appeared between his eyebrows. He bent the folder back and forth a few times, enough to distort it, but not enough to actually fold it, and Jongin wanted to tear it out of his hands for some reason.

 “I… I’m going away,” Kyungsoo began in a low voice, and Jongin was absolutely sure that he was hearing wrong. “Next week I’m going to go to the Blackwing facility. For the mission.”

 Jongin’s mind was completely blank as he just stared at Kyungsoo, blinking but not moving, Kyungsoo’s words echoing in his head.  _ Next week I’m going to go to the Blackwing facility. For the mission. _ Jongin knew what the mission was; it had been the talk of the school for the last month or so, after it had been announced. Meant to investigate recurring disturbances and then take care of whatever was causing them, the accepted applicants were basically supposed to be a reconnaissance team, but they could very well end up switching into a strike team.

 Jongin had never even considered applying, not wanting to leave the Academy and everyone there for a mission like that. But Kyungsoo had obviously not felt the same, and a small part of Jongin felt hurt over that.

 “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, I applied for it kinda out of the blue, I didn’t even know what I’d do if I was accepted, and I just got the answer that I was,” Kyungsoo rambled, but Jongin was only half listening. “But I feel like I need to do this, and- Jongin, are you crying?”

 “Huh?” Jongin said, voice breaking a little. “No?”

 Kyungsoo gave a small sigh before chuckling, holding out his arms and pulling Jongin into a hug.

 “You big baby, why are you crying?” Kyungsoo whispered as he began to gently rock them back and forth, stroking Jongin’s back like he did every time Jongin came back from being home and was homesick.

 “I’m not crying,” Jongin muttered into Kyungsoo’s shoulder, hands fisted in the back of Kyungsoo’s shirt and trying to blink the tears away.

 Because maybe he was crying a little.

 Kyungsoo had been one of the first persons Jongin had met when he had first arrived at the Academy all those years ago. Kyungsoo was one of Jongin’s first friends, and Jongin’s first best friend. Kyungsoo had been a constant in Jongin’s life for about five years now, always there to listen and help Jongin with whatever was bothering him. Or scold him, whichever was needed.

 And now, in a mere few days, Kyungsoo was going away?

 Jongin felt a bit like he had when he was thirteen, and had been forced to say goodbye to his parents that first time he had stepped into the SM Academy. A bit sad and lonely, having to let go of his securities and step into an unknown world. And even though it would be the same world, it still felt strange to be in that same world without Kyungsoo.

 “Sure, and my shirt isn’t wet,” Kyungsoo snorted, making Jongin smile a little. “Nini, I’m just going away for a little while, and we’ll be able to keep in touch, okay? I’m not leaving forever!”

 “Okay,” Jongin said, knowing he sounded really childish and pouty, but he was feeling rather childish and pouty at the moment, so he did not really care.

 Jongin’s childishness made Kyungsoo laugh though, and Jongin closed his eyes as he tried to engrave the sound of it into his mind.

 “I promise, I won’t be away for long, you won’t even have the time to miss me,” Kyungsoo tried to comfort, but now it was Jongin’s turn to snort.

 “You shouldn’t tell lies, hyung.”

 “Okay, what I’m not going to miss is your sassiness,” Kyungsoo muttered, but Jongin could hear the mirth in his voice anyway. “Really, I'll come back, I won't leave you alone here forever. You got Taemin and Soojung, and the squad, so you got plenty of distractions until I get back.”

 Jongin groaned and slumped even more against Kyungsoo. “Who's going to keep the Beagles in line now that you're going away? We're doomed…”

 “Well, shit, I guess you actually are,” Kyungsoo deadpanned, chuckling as Jongin pinched his back. “I guess it's finally time for Junmyeon to learn how to keep them in check. Or I can give that responsibility to you?”

 Jongin pulled back a little to give Kyungsoo a look, wiping his nose on his sleeve whilst ignoring how nasty that was.

 “You really think they'll listen to me? Wow, I'm calling it, you've gone mad. Applying for a dangerous mission, thinking I can handle BaekDaeChan… Insane, you've actually snapped.”

 “Stop being such a brat,” Kyungsoo snorted, punching Jongin’s arm - gently, yet still enough for it to ache a little. “I'm not insane, but I really think you can handle them, yes. They're not used to seeing you all serious and angry, so just pull that card and they'll trip over each other trying to get away. You can look pretty scary, Nini.”

 Deciding to test it out on Kyungsoo, because he was rather upset about it all, Jongin pinned the older with a glare. But Kyungsoo merely smiled.

 “You're looking like a pouty child, maybe dry your tears first.”

 “ _ Hyung, I'm not crying! _ ”

 

 Dinner was spent in a rather normal fashion, with most of the group gathered except for a few. Nobody was really talking, just a few words here and there, and it was obvious that everyone had heard of the impending mission.

 “I saw that Taeyeon’s also going on the mission,” Kyungsoo suddenly said, and Jongin looked over at Baekhyun in surprise.

 But the older just gave a small smile and nodded.

 “She decided that she wanted to get away for while. Partially to give us time to actually get over each other,” Baekhyun said, voice sounding a bit bittersweet. “Which is good, I guess. It’s hard to get away from each other when you’re literally living in the same house…”

 Silence fell over the group, before Seulgi spoke up.

 “Where's Soojung?” she asked, turning to Jongin who was sitting with an empty chair on one of his sides.

 “Sooyeon is also going on the mission, so Soojung is spending some time with her,” Jongin said with a small shrug. “She's a bit upset about it, since they've always been together, and this will be the first time they're apart at different places for a longer time.”

 “Yeah, I can see how that could upset her…,” Seulgi nodded, and then silence once more took over.

 The atmosphere was rather somber in the entire dining hall, but it was rather fitting. Sighing, Jongin put his head on Kyungsoo’s shoulder, taking advantage of the time they had left before Kyungsoo was supposed to go. And as Kyungsoo leaned his head against Jongin’s, he suspected that Kyungsoo was doing the same.

 

 All too soon, the day of departure came, and with it Kyungsoo was leaving.

 Jongin, Kyungsoo, Taemin, Sehun, Baekhyun, Jongdae and Chanyeol had spent the night together, on a mess of mattresses, blankets and pillows. They had tried to make it a nice last night for Kyungsoo, a happy memory for them all, but there had been an undertone of sadness throughout the night that no matter how many jokes or silly anecdotes or junk food could disperse.

 Jongin and Baekhyun were the first ones to arrive to see Kyungsoo off, standing in the background watching as the chaos around them increased the more people arrived. Silently, they stood, Baekhyun with his arms crossed in front of Jongin, and Jongin with his arms around Baekhyun’s shoulders, chin leaned on one of the older’s shoulder.

 When Kyungsoo had gone through everything he needed and put his bag in the baggage pile, he turned, squinting a little before smiling as he spotted Jongin and Baekhyun.

 “What is he looking so happy for,” Baekhyun muttered, but Jongin did not answer the question - knowing it wasn't really a question.

 “I’m not going away forever, it’s supposed to only last a few months at most,” was the first thing Kyungsoo said as he reached them. “I’m coming back soon again, so stop it with the brooding, it’s not as attractive as you both seem to think it is.”

 “ _ Supposed _ to last a few months isn’t  _ will _ last a few months, it could become more,” Baekhyun said, before sighing. “I’m sorry for being such a shitty friend, but I really don’t like this… I have a really bad feeling about it, and I’m going to miss you so much… It was just you and I at first, and now you’re leaving me with the kids?”

 Kyungsoo gave Baekhyun an adoring smile, reaching out to take one of Baekhyun’s hands.

 “I’ll be back as soon as I can, and I’ve already put Jongin as my temporary replacement,” Kyungsoo said, making Jongin protest and let go of Baekhyun. “Be kind to him, ease him into the responsibilities, and don’t burn him out too quickly, okay?”

 “You’re so stupid,” Baekhyun whispered, before he pulled Kyungsoo into a tight hug.

 Kyungsoo was still smiling as he held Baekhyun close, one hand rubbing the other’s back, but Jongin could see that his eyes were starting to look a bit wet before they closed.

 “I’m going to miss you too, Baek,” Kyungsoo mumbled, voice a bit wobbly, and Jongin felt like crying all over again.

 It was ridiculous, really. Kyungsoo was going away for a little while, and yes, it was a dangerous mission, but it was not like he was going to the frontline of a war to be at risk of  _ dying _ . Jongin felt a bit annoyed at himself by how easily he was tearing up, honestly.

 “Just- stay safe, okay?” Baekhyun pleaded, and Jongin felt the feeling that was obvious in Baekhyun’s voice clench around his heart painfully.

 “Of course,” Kyungsoo easily answered, but Jongin’s worry did not ease up in the least.

 When Kyungsoo finally pulled back from Baekhyun, the latter trying to discreetly dry his eyes, he turned to Jongin with a stern look.

 “You’re not allowed to cry now, you’ve already done that,” Kyungsoo ordered, but Jongin just gave a pout, before he put his forehead on Kyungsoo’s shoulder.

 Immediately, Kyungsoo’s arms wrapped around Jongin’s neck, holding him close, as Jongin put his hands on Kyungsoo’s waist. It felt so strange, that this would be their last hug, their last time seeing each other, for at least a few months. Jongin never wanted to let go, but in the end he had to. There were others there to say goodbye to Kyungsoo, and even though Jongin and Baekhyun had a higher priority through their positions as best friends, it was not fair to hog Kyungsoo for themselves.

 As Kyungsoo said goodbye to the rest that were slowly arriving, Jongin looked around, wanting to distract himself a little. There were goodbyes happening all around; some encouraging and happy, others more sad. Jongin caught sight of Soojung standing with Sooyeon. Her sister was cupping Soojung’s cheeks, talking to her in a low voice and with a gentle smile on her face, thumbs trying to dry away the tears. Not wanting to tear up again, Jongin looked away from them, to the others gathered around. There were so many…

 Jongin saw Taeyeon look in their direction, and, glancing to the side, he saw that Baekhyun had noticed the same. It took a heartbeat, but then Baekhyun’s lips formed a small, hesitant smile, before he raised a hand in a wave. Taeyeon mirrored the smile, nodding once, before turning around and heading towards the vehicle she was riding in. Jongin put a hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder as the older sighed and slumped a little.

 And then it was time for everyone to leave. Kyungsoo pulled Jongin and Baekhyun into quick hugs, before he turned around and jogged towards the vehicle - and Jongin wondered if he was imagining the way Kyungsoo’s hand came up to wipe at his face.

 Sooyeon, who had spent the last few minutes holding Soojung in a close hug, reluctantly pulled back and let her sister go. She looked over at Jongin, and no words were needed for Jongin to understand that she was asking him to take care of her sister. He gave her a nod, promising to do his best, and Sooyeon shot him a grateful smile before saying something to Soojung and then gently pushed her towards where Jongin and the others were standing.

 Placing an arm around her shoulders, Jongin pulled Soojung close, and she pressed the side of her face against his shoulder, arms around his waist. They stood like that, watching as the vehicles slowly began to drive off, leaving them behind.

 But at least they had each other.

 

 It was a strange experience, to try to get used to life without the people that used to be a constant in it before. It was not the pure missing as much as the sudden realization that they were not there when you wanted to tell them something, show them something.

 Several times a day in the beginning, Jongin found himself coming to a stop as he realized that Kyungsoo was not there to hear whatever it was that Jongin wanted to say. And it felt as if he suddenly found so many more things to share with Kyungsoo, as if Jongin’s mind was trying to show how strange it really was. But Jongin did not need it to do so - he already knew it.

 Slowly, slowly, Jongin began to get these impulses further and further apart, until it only happened maybe a few times a week. And even though it was still a bit shocking, it was much better than it had been in the beginning.

 He saw Soojung react in the same way; move with an excited look on her face, just to come to a stop and falter, face falling a little. Every time Jongin noticed this, he would take Soojung’s hand and give it a squeeze, and ask if she wanted to tell him what it was she had thought about.

 Most of the time, Soojung shook her head with a sad smile on her lips, just pressing Jongin’s hand back, and Jongin fully accepted this. He understood.

  
  


**2013 {19}**

 

 “Hey, Junmyeon!”

 The entire cafeteria seemed to freeze, so quiet you could probably hear a pin needle fall to the floor. Turning around, Jongin found Joohyun standing by the doors, apparently having been on her way out through them when she had turned around and called out. All eyes were on her, but her eyes were glued to Junmyeon.

 “Huh?” Junmyeon managed to get out, probably earning himself a few eyerolls and raised eyebrows - Jongin belonging to last category.

 “Do you want to go out with me?” Joohyun asked, a faint blush over her cheeks, and the entire cafeteria appeared to hold their breath.

 Jongin glanced over at Junmyeon, who appeared to be having troubles breathing, and who was looking a bit red, and Jongin honestly pitied him. But he really was taking too long, so Jongin gently (not really) nudged his foot.

 “Yes! Oh my god, yes!” Junmyeon choked out, voice cracking, but it still made a smile curve Joohyun’s lips upwards.

 “Okay,” she said, before turning around and fleeing the scene as the cafeteria burst out into catcalls and applauds.

 It seemed like everyone had noticed the obvious tension between the two, and relief over them finally getting it together flooded the large room. Junmyeon buried his face in his hands, obviously embarrassed, but Jongin could see the smile on his face.

 Chuckling, Jongin turned to Soojung, who was smiling just as widely as her fingers tightened slightly around Jongin’s hand, and everything just felt so right and good.

 

 As time progressed, Jongin noticed something good turning out of the mission.

 It was Baekhyun. Baekhyun was starting to return fully to the person he had been before the breakup, the underlying melancholy that had been there for so long now as he never managed to get away from Taeyeon disappearing. His amazing self-esteem returned full force, reminding Jongin of the first time he had met the other.

 Through this, the Beagles were once more back in full force, much to Junmyeon’s eternal chagrin. They did not pull any large scale pranks, but a few minor ones here and there, so Junmyeon had to always be on the lookout. Jongin thought that he was being ridiculous, since it never amounted to something big, but Junmyeon did not agree with his arguments, adamant in continuing with his ways, so Jongin gave up trying to make him see reason. Instead, Jongin sat back and enjoyed the show.

 

 And one day, Jongin saw something else, noticed something new growing instead of something old returning.

 It was a regular day of Baekhyun and Jongdae playing around with each other - something that happened rather often nowadays. Chanyeol was much calmer than the other two, more silent than he had been before, and Jongin absently wondered a few times if the older was growing up, or if there was something going on.

 But as Jongin was walking down a hallways and spotted the three together, the puzzle pieces finally clicked together, and he understood.

 “I can be the ‘light’ to your ‘lightning’, baby,” Baekhyun said, wiggling his eyebrows in a horrible flirting attempt, and if Jongin had been closer, he would have told Baekhyun that the reason for why the older was single was because of his shitty jokes.

 But Jongdae was always up for a round of cringey flirting, bursting out laughing as he slung an arm around Baekhyun’s shoulders. “Wow, sweeping me off of my feet like a storm, Baek, I just can’t help but fall for you!”

 “My charms really are irresistible,” Baekhyun grinned, wrapping his own arm around Jongdae’s waist.

 Glancing over at the taller standing some way away, Jongin noticed the soft look in Chanyeol’s eyes as he watched the exchange. Yes, it did seem like Baekhyun’s charms really were irresistible to some.

 

 Wandering around, lost in his thoughts, Jongin didn’t notice Soojung coming up to his side until she took a hold of his hand and tugged at it.

 “Nini, are you okay?” she asked, frowning, and Jongin reached out to smoothen the wrinkles on her forehead out. “I called out to you several times.”

 “Yeah, I’m sorry, I spaced out a little,” Jongin answered, leaning down to give Soojung a quick peck.

 “What were you spacing out over?” Soojung asked as they continued to walk, heading towards the dining hall.

 Jongin looked around, not wanting anyone too close to be overhear, before he leaned down to whisper in Soojung’s ear.

 “I think Chanyeol’s in love with Baekhyun,” he mumbled, straightening up and giving a shrug. “Or crushing, at least.”

 Tilting her head and chewing on her lower lip, Soojung thought for a moment, before slowly nodding.

 “I can see that, yes… It would explain some things,” she said, and Jongin raised an eyebrow in question. “He’s been changing lately, a bit more muted, paying more attention to Ba-  _ him _ . He’s actually reminding me of how you acted before we got together, even though I didn’t understand why you were acting as you did back then.”

 Jongin came to a stop, looking over at Soojung in surprise. “Really? I was acting differently.”

 “Uh, yeah, you were,” Soojung snorted, shaking her head with a small smile on her lips. “You were distracted and more on the downlow than you normally was,  _ is _ . I thought you were upset with me or something!”

 “Oh… Sorry about that, I was just mostly confused,” Jongin said, giving a smile as he tugged on Soojung’s hand to get her to start walking again. “And upset with Taemin…”

 Soojung burst out laughing at that, fingers tightening around Jongin’s hand.

 “Ah, right, Kyungsoo told me about that!” Soojung laughed, making Jongin stop again. “I still don’t understand why you ever thought Taemin and me were interested in each other.”

 “Kyungsoo told you about that?” Jongin gasped, feeling rather offended. “He promised he wouldn’t!”

 Still chuckling, Soojung reached up to pat Jongin’s cheek, smile rather beaming. “Don’t be angry with him, sweetie, I find it really cute.”

 “I’m not cute,” Jongin muttered, earning himself another snort as he was pulled along.

  
  


**2014 {20}**

 

 “Hey, Jongin.”

 Jongin leaned back in his chair, tilting his head backwards to find Baekhyun walking over to him.

 “Hi, hyung, what’s up?” Jongin asked, sitting up straight again as Baekhyun collapsed down into a chair next to him with a deep sigh.

 “I’m missing Soo,” Baekhyun answered, putting his chin on Jongin’s shoulder.

 It had become a sort of regular thing for Baekhyun to come see Jongin whenever he was missing Kyungsoo, saying that Jongin reminded him of the missing man.

 “It’s been two fucking years and they have yet to come back…,” Baekhyun muttered. “Two years is not a few months…”

 “Have you heard anything from him?” Jongin mumbled as he put his book down on the table, trying not to jostle Baekhyun too much.

 The heavy sigh Baekhyun let out was answer enough.

 “No, they’re still saying that they’re sending messages in batches to minimize risks,” Baekhyun answered, fingers starting to play with the hem of Jongin’s shirt. “I have no idea what they’re doing nowadays that makes it so dangerous for them, but it worries me…”

 “Same, hyung,” Jongin exhaled. “Same. But all we can do is wait.”

 “I don’t want to wait anymore,” Baekhyun said, and Jongin did not have look to know that the older was pouting.

 It had been two years since Kyungsoo left. A few months since his last messages. In the beginning, the messages had been many and quickly answered, but they started to reduce, until they almost came to a stop, and changed into the batches they know were. Something was going on, obviously, but nobody who was not directly involved knew anything. Probably for everyone’s protection, but Jongin still did not like it.

 He just hoped that Kyungsoo would come home - in one piece - soon.

 

 “I miss her,” Soojung whispered, voice muffled by Jongin’s shirt. “It’s been so long…”

 “I know,” Jongin whispered back, tightening his arms around his girlfriend to pull her a bit closer, before closing his eyes. “I hope they come back home soon.”


	4. Chapter 4

**2015 {21}**

 

 The whole school was once more completely abuzz, and Jongin wondered if there was a new student arriving, but at the same time, the buzz seemed different today. Confused, Jongin walked through the school towards the cafeteria to get some breakfast, having to swerve around people on his way.

 “Jongin!” someone called out behind him, and Jongin turned to look at Taemin in confusion as the older zoomed over, clearly using his abilities to get to Jongin as quickly as possible. “They’re back!”

 “Who-”

 But before Jongin even had the time to fully voice out his question, his mind clicked, and he gasped. Happiness bubbled through him as he took a hold of Taemin’s shoulders and began to rather violently shake him.

 “Where are they?!” Jongin almost screamed at his poor friend, who winced.

 “The garage!” Taemin half-screamed back, and Jongin gave him a quick peck on the cheek in thanks, before releasing Taemin and teleporting.

 Dropping right into the middle of it all, Jongin spun around as he tried to find who he was searching for. He gave hasty greetings to those he recognized, before finally, he caught sight of him.

 Kyungsoo. His best friend who had left him for almost three years after promising to be back shortly. Annoyance over the broken promise filled Jongin alongside the elation of  _ finally _ seeing Kyungsoo again, and as Kyungsoo turned around, Jongin crossed his arms and pouted.

 His hair was shorter, and his features were sharper, but it was still the same large eyes and the same plump lips forming round shapes in surprise, and Jongin felt a bit taken aback by how - honestly -  _ grown up _ Kyungsoo looked. Sure, he was still pretty small, but there was something about him that made sure that Jongin knew that Kyungsoo was the older.

 They stood staring at each other like that for a few long seconds, Kyungsoo in surprise and Jongin still pouting, until Kyungsoo’s lips spread in that heart-shaped smile Jongin had not seen in  _ years _ .

 “Jongin-”

 “Three years isn’t soon, Do Kyungsoo!” Jongin interrupted the other, making Kyungsoo drop the smile for surprise again, before he burst out laughing.

 “It’s been three years and you’re still so adorably pouty,” Kyungsoo said as he calmed down a little. “You look all grown up, but you’re not really, are you?”

 “And there you go, insulting me two seconds after we meet again after three years,” Jongin grumbled, throwing his hands into the air before letting them fall to his sides. “Wow, hyung, I’m hurt!”

 Kyungsoo rolled his eyes, huffing a little as he placed his hands on his hips.

 “I’ve been gone for three years, and this is the welcome I get? Wow, Nini, I’m hurt.”

 “No, don’t you go turning this against me!” Jongin protested, stomping the last few steps over to Kyungsoo. “You’re not allowed to!”

 Kyungsoo began to laugh again as Jongin threw his arms around the shorter’s shoulders, and they began to awkwardly sway from side to side together, clinging to each other.

 “You said a few months,” Jongin muttered against the side of Kyungsoo’s head.

 “I know, I didn’t think it would take this long,” Kyungsoo answered, one hand rubbing Jongin’s back in that really nice way that only a few people could. “Things… Just sort of escalated.”

 Loosening his grip, Jongin leaned back enough to be able to look down at Kyungsoo, frowning a little.

 “You’re still not allowed to say anything? But you’re back home?”

 Kyungsoo gave a smile. “The mission might be over, but it’s still sensitive information. Don’t worry, in time you’ll get to know-”

 “Kyungsoo-hyung.”

 Pulling back and turning, Jongin found his girlfriend standing behind him, eyes focused on Kyungsoo and an ashen expression on her face.

 “Hyung… Where’s Sooyeon?” Soojung asked, voice hushed, and Jongin looked around in surprise.

 Because Sooyeon was not there. And Jongin realized that she was not the only one missing, but at least two or three other people.

 “Nobody’s contacted you?” Kyungsoo asked in surprise, and Jongin glanced over at him, seeing how Kyungsoo began to frown. “Soojung, I’m sorry… But your sister, she didn’t come home with us. She left us, to join Nemesis.”

 Jongin froze in shock, unable to do anything more than blink. Sooyeon was not coming home?

 “I-I don’t understand, hyung,” Soojung said, voice wavering, and Jongin quickly snapped back into reality and placed an arm around his girlfriend’s trembling shoulders. “What do you mean, she left?”

 Kyungsoo glanced up at Jongin, something akin to desperation in his eyes, but Jongin did not understand, basically as confused as Soojung. Exhaling, Kyungsoo took a step forwards to take a hold of Soojung’s hand, thumb soothingly rubbing over her knuckles.

 “Sooyeon left to join the Children of Nemesis, they’re a newly formed group of extremists who are using violence to try to create equality between mutants and humans. She left several months ago, and someone should’ve told you this sooner, I’m so very sorry.”

 Soojung did not say anything more, and Jongin could feel how shallow her breathing was through his grip on her, and it worried him. But what worried him a bit more was the fact that Sooyeon had joined another group and left Soojung behind.

 Or maybe was going to come for Soojung and take her away. And Jongin would not let that happen,  _ could _ not let that happen.

 “Jongin…,” Soojung suddenly whispered, and Jongin leaned down a little to catch her words. “I want to go to my room…”

 Kyungsoo carefully dropped Soojung’s hand, before stepping back. “I’m really sorry.”

 Jongin looked up at Kyungsoo for a second, seeing sadness in the older’s eyes, before he pulled Soojung close and teleported away.

 

 Jongin gave a knock to the door, and it took only a few seconds before it was pulled open, revealing Kyungsoo. He was dressed in sweatpants and an old hoodie now, looking a bit softer around the edges, and more like Kyungsoo from three years ago. The Kyungsoo that Jongin remembered.

 “Hey,” Kyungsoo said, stepping aside to let Jongin in. “How’s Soojung?”

 Jongin dragged his feet over to Kyungsoo’s bed, before collapsing down on top of it, like he had done millions of times before. Kyungsoo sat down next to Jongin, dragging his fingers through Jongin’s hair - like he had done millions of times before.

 “Not great,” Jongin sighed, closing his eyes. “She wanted to be alone… Which I can understand, but I don’t think it’ll do her any good…”

 Kyungsoo hummed above him, still combing his fingers through Jongin’s hair, lightly scratching Jongin’s scalp, and it sent nice tingles down Jongin’s spine. “Just give her some time. Hopefully she’ll reach out soon… How are you, though?”

 Jongin blinked his eyes open, looking up at Kyungsoo in confusion.

 “Me? How I am? Why are you asking how  _ I _ am?”

 Kyungsoo raised a brow, and Jongin had certainly not missed Kyungsoo’s sarcasm (maybe just a little).

 “Sorry, didn’t know it was an offence, I was trying to be polite,” Kyungsoo said, removing his hand from Jongin’s hair and booping his nose with a finger. “It’s been three years, Jonginnie, I think ‘how are you’ is a good way to start things off again.”

 Jongin wrinkled his nose, swatting Kyungsoo’s hand away as it tried to go for a second boop.

 “I acknowledge your logic, and, well… I’m fine, I guess? Nothing out of the ordinary? I’m happy to have you back, but I’m sad for Soojung’s sake,” Jongin answered, a bit thoughtful. “It’s been a day of surprises, and I haven’t really caught up to it yet, so I’m also a bit confused… How are you?”

 Kyungsoo shrugged a little as he looked around, and Jongin sat up so that he could see the older better.

 “It feels strange to be back here after having been away for so long… Feels strange knowing that I’m back in a place where I don’t have to worry and constantly check over my shoulder,” Kyungsoo answered, voice hushed. Letting out a small breath, Kyungsoo then turned to Jongin, smiling. “It’s nice to be home again, though. To see everyone again. I’ve missed this.”

 Before Jongin could say anything, the door was flung open, two people more or less falling inside.

 “Kyungsoo!” Baekhyun yelled, running over onto the bed and jumping on top of Kyungsoo who had curled in on himself. “You’re back, oh my god! It’s been 84 years! Oh, hi Jonginnie!”

 Jongdae was a bit more calm, closing the door after walking inside, before leisurely jogging over to the bed as well, and plopping down on top of the forming pile. Jongin moved out of the way, grinning over the screeches and laughter, and everything started to feel a bit more like it had three years ago.

 “Ugh, I can’t breathe, save me, Jongin!” Kyungsoo called out in help, but Jongin shook his head.

 “You can easily remove them on your own, and they’ve missed you,” Jongin said, cackling as Kyungsoo’s hand came up to try to swat at him - but since Kyungsoo was pinned down, Jongin was out of reach.

 Suddenly, the door was once more opened, and then Jongin found himself pinned to the bed as well.

 “Hey, you’re not Kyungsoo!” Chanyeol exclaimed, as he looked down at Jongin with surprise clearly written on his face.

 “He’s in the other pile,” Jongin groaned, dragging in a deep, painful breath when Chanyeol moved away. But then Sehun collapsed on top of him, and the air was once more pushed out of Jongin’s lungs. “ _ Stop confusing us as each other! _ ”

 “I’m not confusing the two of you, I just don’t want to be in that pile,” Sehun said as he put his head on Jongin’s shoulder, finger pointed at the four-man pile next to them. “So just let me cuddle you!”

 “I’m not your girlfriend,” Jongin muttered, wiggling around to try to get a bit more comfortable.

 “Neither am I yours, yet here we are, cuddling,” Sehun said, letting Jongin adjust before lying down properly again.

 “Can I join your cuddling instead of the pile?” Taemin asked, getting a no from Jongin and a yes from Sehun, promptly lying down next to Jongin and snuggled up to him as Sehun moved a little to the side.

 Sighing, Jongin accepted his fate, feeling slightly happy that he was not at the moment beneath a pile of Beagles all trying to get his attention - because it really did not sound fun at all.

 And so, the seven men spent Kyungsoo’s first night back in the same fashion as Kyungsoo’s last night home - all together in a mess of blankets and pillows and mattresses, this time with new stories to be exchanged with each other.

 “Wait, really, you’re actually trying to convince me that Junmyeon and Joohyun are dating?” Kyungsoo asked in disbelief. “No way?”

 “Yes way, promise! The entire school saw it with their own eyes!” Baekhyun insisted. “We were all eating, and then Joohyun just called out to Junmyeon, asking if he wanted to go out with her, and in the end Junmyeon managed to get a yes out!”

 “I had to kick his foot for that yes,” Jongin mumbled in between Baekhyun’s retelling.

 “It was, what, a year and a half ago? They’re still going steady, you’re going to see for yourself tomorrow!”

 “Of course it was Joohyun who asked,” Kyungsoo said with a smile that soon turned a bit teasing. “Minseok met someone too, one from the Chinese group sent to assist…”

 Several exclamations echoed around the room, because no one had ever seen Minseok interested in anyone. He mostly kept to himself in Junmyeon’s little group, hanging with Amber most of the time, seemingly rather shy on his own.

 “Wow, both Junmyeon and Minseok… Y’all, I think we’re starting to grow up and turn into  _ adults _ ,” Taemin whispered in a horrified voice, giving a shiver and triggering laughter all around.

 And even as Jongin felt so nice lying next to Kyungsoo, hearing and almost feeling the other’s laugh, he could not help but think of Soojung, Soojung who was all alone and did not know if her sister had met someone special or not - just a group of extremists who had lured her away.

 Sighing, Jongin wished there was something he could do for Soojung, even if it was just to hug her.

 

 Soojung slowly retreated from everyone, choosing to spend her time alone in her room instead of with any of her friends - or Jongin, for that matter. No matter how many times Jongin tried to reach out and offer his support, the times Soojung accepted it grew fewer and further apart with every day passing.

 And a few weeks after Kyungsoo and the rest had returned home, sans Sooyeon, Jongin through chance spotted Soojung walking across the school grounds, and with a heavy premonition settling uncomfortably in his stomach, Jongin teleported.

 “Soojung?” Jongin called out, his girlfriend jerking in surprise, still facing away.

 “Ah, I should’ve known…,” she mumbled, shoulders slumping a little. “You saw me and teleported here to try to stop me, right?”

 “Why do I have to stop you?” Jongin asked, that horrible, horrible feeling inside of him growing larger and larger until it felt like it was choking him.

 “Isn’t it obvious?” Soojung answered, turning around to face Jongin, face passive. “I’m leaving. To go to Sooyeon.”

 The feeling inside of Jongin exploded all the way out into his fingertips, filling him with icy water instead of warm blood. No, this could not happen, he would not  _ let _ this happen. This was not Soojung, she did not share those values, it was just for Sooyeon - but it was not worth ruining her entire life to foolishly follow her sister.

 Jongin needed to do something, make her see reason.

 “Soojung, please,” Jongin pleaded, stressing each word out. “Don’t do this, don’t go.”

 “Why not?” Soojung asked, tears in her eyes, but also determination. “I have nothing left here… She’s my  _ sister _ , why shouldn’t I join her?”

 “Because it’s not  _ right _ , they want to enslave humanity. And that’s not fair to them.”

 Soojung gave a grim smile, no happiness in it.

 “And what they’ve been doing to us for centuries is, Nini? Why shouldn’t they have a taste of their own medicine?”

 The answer took Jongin a bit aback, but he quickly recovered.

 “This isn’t you, you don’t believe that,” Jongin whispered. “You’re too kind-hearted to believe that…”

 Soojung snorted, looking away. “How do you know that? I might’ve been corrupted by this dark world, too many heartbreaks destroying me into having no faith in humanity anymore.”

 This time, Jongin took a bit longer to recover from his surprise.

 “What do you mean ‘too many heartbreaks’? Are you talking about us?”

 “I’m talking about everything. You really think our breakup didn’t affect me at all?”

 That stung. Badly. Too the point where Jongin had to rub the area of his chest which hid his heart, even though he knew it was pointless.

 “Breakup? Since when did we break up? I thought we had a pause, not that we broke up,” Jongin mumbled, unable to look at Soojung anymore.

 “I… Jongin, I thought you understood.”

 Jongin chuckled, trying to blink the tears away. Why was it hurting to much, why was he crying? He had already felt pain over the abrupt pause in their relationship, so why was he feeling double, no,  _ triple _ , that pain now? It did not make sense.

 “I guess I’m a bit stupid sometimes… Guess I didn’t  _ ‘understand’ _ ... Wow, I guess this means you were ghosting me, all of those times I tried to be there for you, and you completely closed me out, refused to see me… Yeah, maybe I totally should’ve understood.”

 “I’m sorry,” Soojung simply said, and she sounded sincere. But the pain inside of Jongin twisted it, did not accept it, refused it.

 “Whatever, keep your apology, doesn’t really hold much to me. I just… I need to go. You can go fuck up your life if you want to, but just know that I was here, ready to support you and help you, and you fucked that up too.”

 Jongin knew that he was being harsh, and he knew that his words was probably not working in his favor of keeping Soojung from joining the Children of Nemesis. But at the moment, he truly did not care. He just needed to get away, and somehow get rid of the  _ ridiculous _ pain.

 Turning, Jongin walked away, leaving Soojung to make the decision that would decide her fate.

 

 “Jongin? Are you okay?”

 Jongin merely hummed, not sure about the answer to that question. He was not really feeling anything at the moment, did that mean that he was okay? Probably not. He suspected that his state of mind was not too healthy. But closing everything down was the easiest way to handle something he was not sure how he could handle at the moment.

 Kyungsoo appeared in his line of sight, and Jongin quickly glanced over at him, offering an empty smile before looking away again. Kyungsoo was looking worried, and Jongin understood why, but was in no way capable of handling someone’s worry - or even worse,  _ pity _ \- right now.

 Mostly, he just wanted to be left alone.

 “Talk to me, Jongin. What’s going on?”

 But Jongin shook his head, refusing to answer, refusing to tell Kyungsoo. If he did open up, there was no stopping it, and Jongin was sure he would drown in the flood.

 “Has this something to do with Soojung? She came back a while after you, looking pretty… Upset. Did you guys break up?”

 Jongin’s heart twisted at his girlfriend’s - no,  _ ex’s _ \- name, but Kyungsoo’s last question tore a dark chuckle from his throat.

 “There was nothing to break up, apparently.”

_ Well, shit. _

 “Oh.”

 Feeling the tears starting to pool again, Jongin turned his face away, not wanting the other seeing him cry. Had he not cried enough yet? He had cried until his eyes were dry and his body emptied of every single feeling, until his pain was just a dull throbbing. But Kyungsoo was obviously tearing straight through that.

 A warm hand landed on his shoulder, and Jongin jerked at the contact, almost moving away from it.

 “I’m sorry, Jongin. That really sucks…”

 Jongin barked out a laugh, but it was broken and sounding too much like a sob, and he just  _ hated _ how much everything was starting to hurt. Could Kyungsoo not just have left him alone, to wallow in his pain or whatever?

 “Come here, Jonginnie,” Kyungsoo mumbled, pulling on Jongin to make him turn around, and Jongin had known Kyungsoo for long enough to know that putting up a fight was useless.

 So Jongin found himself wrapped up in a tight hug, sobbing his heart out into the shirt he was clutching in panic, hoping it could ground him somewhat. And Kyungsoo let him, holding him and whispering comforting words that Jongin did not really hear, but nevertheless appreciated.

 And when Jongin had cried all of his tears, exhaustion overtook him, and he fell asleep in his best friend’s embrace.

 

 When Jongin woke up, it was to a headache. Crying had a tendency to do that to you, but it was still really annoying.

 There was also a pain in his neck, and as the haze began to clear away, Jongin noticed that he was lying on top of Kyungsoo’s chest, the older’s arms still around him. Well, that explained things.

 As Jongin tried to pull away and sit up, Kyungsoo’s arms tightened around him, to the point where Jongin was starting to have difficulties breathing. Realizing he had no chance, Jongin gave up and reached up as far as he could, managing to poke Kyungsoo’s cheek. The older grumbled and turned his head away, but Jongin did not let up.

 “What are you  _ doing _ ?” Kyungsoo finally whined, his grip loosening somewhat, and Jongin dragged in a deep breath.

 “You were on your way to killing me in your sleep, hyung,” Jongin muttered, now able to slide out of the embrace and sit up, wincing over the pain in his back. In his entire body, honestly.

 “Then why didn’t you just teleport and let your poor old hyung get his beauty sleep?” Kyungsoo asked as he rubbed at his eyes.

 “I… My powers don’t work that well when I’m upset… Or really emotional in any way,” Jongin explained in a low voice, shrugging a little as he felt the need to up and run away from Kyungsoo’s suddenly so sharp gaze upon him.

 “Oh, right,” Kyungsoo mumbled, much more awake now, and it made Jongin feel a bit bad. Kyungsoo should not have to suffer for him, it was enough that Jongin was suffering.

 “Mm, ‘right’,” Jongin said, getting up on his feet and stretching. “You should get some more of your precious beauty sleep, hyung, whatever would you do if you ever lost your cuteness…”

 “Okay, I’m going to take that as a compliment and ignore the malice in it, since I blame it on your current emotional state,” Kyungsoo said, the tone of his voice immediately making Jongin feel bad.

 With a sigh, Jongin rubbed at his face, feeling so exhausted but still close to tears, and he  _ hated _ it.

 “I… I’m sorry, hyung…,” Jongin whispered, collapsing down onto the sofa again, leaning his head back onto the headrest and staring up at the ceiling. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t take it out on you…”

 “No, but I understand you,” Kyungsoo said, reaching out and taking Jongin’s hand. “Talk about it instead. They say that helps, but I don’t know. I’ve never been in a relationship, so you’ll have to tell me if it helps.”

 Jongin snorted as he gently pressed Kyungsoo’s hand, a small smile on his lips.

 “I’d forgotten about that… Why haven’t you had a relationship, hyung?” Jongin asked, musing a little. “I guess it must come down to you not finding someone, because you’re too nice and good-looking for someone to pass up on.”

 “Hm, I think it might be the opposite…,” Kyungsoo absently answered, before shaking Jongin’s hand from side to side. “Hey, stop trying to divert the attention from yourself! I won’t let you go until you start opening up!”

 Jongin turned to Kyungsoo with wide eyes, Kyungsoo merely raising a brow back at Jongin.

 “But… I need to go to the bathroom, hyung…,” Jongin whispered, a tinge of horror in his voice, and a kind of  _ sadistic _ smile found its way onto Kyungsoo’s lips.

 “Then I guess you need to  _ hurry up _ with the  _ opening up _ , sweetheart,” Kyungsoo drawled, grinning widely, even as Jongin whined.

 Truth be told, Jongin was nowhere near as okay as he tried to seem like. It was nice to fool around with Kyungsoo, because it took his mind off of things, gave him a sense of normalcy that he had not felt for quite a while now. But at the same time, the empty feeling inside of Jongin was eating everything away, even the smidgen of happiness that Kyungsoo was giving him, with Jongin continuously swinging from apathetic to too full of sadness.

 So Jongin spent the entire day with Kyungsoo, either crying or talking - sometimes both - hoping and wishing that it would make everything alright again.

 It did not.

 

 When it was reported that Soojung was missing it did not really come as a surprise, but something rather expected. There were no gasps or any panic, just pity-filled stares in Jongin’s direction, and he  _ hated _ it.

 Discomfort over having everyone’s eyes trained at him whenever he was walking around, the wound being ripped open time and time again, led to Jongin barely stepping outside of his room. Either he would teleport to get food, or someone would bring it to him, and whenever he felt like he needed to breathe, he would just teleport away somewhere.

 Kyungsoo, Taemin and Sehun were constant visitors to Jongin’s room, trying their best to cheer him up and help him get over Soojung, and even though they sometimes became too much, Jongin greatly appreciated their efforts.

 Little by little, Jongin’s heart begun to stitch together, into an aching mess - but at least a functional aching mess. Maybe he had gotten some time to prepare through Soojung’s distancing before the breakup, and maybe it did help a little, but Jongin was just happy that the pain was starting to lessen.


	5. Chapter 5

**2016 {22}**

 

 A few months later would be the first time Jongin saw Soojung again after their definite breakup, and it was completely out of the blue.

 It had been a beautiful day, a few faint wisps of cloud dotting the azure sky here and there, not hinting in any way towards what was about to come. Jongin was lazing around outside together with Taemin, Baekhyun, and Chanyeol - the two latter absorbing the light and heat as a way of charging up, and the two former just because it was nice.

 But as the alarm rang out, all four jolted out of their dazes, quickly getting on their feet and hurrying inside. In the school building, mild chaos was reigning, students rushing back and forth, the older going towards the meeting room and the younger to their own rooms.

 Filing inside of the meeting room, the four were joined by Kyungsoo as well, eyebrows drawn into a tense frown. Jongin nudged him in question, but Kyungsoo only shook his head.

 At the front of the room, Bo-ah was standing between Yunho and Changmin, and they were talking in hushed voices with each other. After a while, Yunho and Changmin nodded, and Bo-ah turned to the rest of the room.

 “There’s been sightings of Nemesises close by, most probably drawing close to attack,” Bo-ah began, silence falling over the room. “We know how they operate, it’s likely they’re out for more followers to join their cause, and we can’t let them get close to the younger, more impressionable, students. Remember that they kill if they can’t turn you.”

 The atmosphere in the room turned even more serious, every person straightening up in discomfort at the words.

 “Reconn team, we’re sending you out to take a look, remember to not engage if you spot anything, return to your assigned spot and notify your group leader,” Bo-ah instructed, looking around the room. “We’ve trained for this, so I’m not worried, I know you’ll handle it. Just remember to not fall for whatever they promise you. We’ve already lost people to them, and we are the last protectors of humanity. They only got us to count on. Let’s go!”

 Just as he was about to teleport away to his assigned position, Jongin was stopped by an iron grip on his arm, and he looked down at Kyungsoo in question. The older was worrying his lower lip, seeming as he was about to say something, but in the end he just sighed and shook his head, releasing his grip.

 If it had been any other time, Jongin would have stayed and tried to get him to talk, but as it was, Jongin really needed to go. Pushing his worries to the back of his head, Jongin took a deep breath, and teleported.

 And when his body reassembled and his feet touched the ground, Jongin deeply regretted it.

 Something was thrown his way, and through some miracle, Jongin managed to drop to the ground before it hit him. There were people around him, but he did not try to make out who they were before he in panic teleport back to the Academy.

 Having misjudged his landing a little, Jongin appeared twenty centimeters or so above the ground, having the air knocked out of him as his back painfully connected with the dirt. Gasping, he rolled over onto his side, trying to catch his breath.

 “Jongin, are you okay?” Seulgi asked, already by his side, but she might have seen his entrance already. “We’re going, can you stand up, or should you sit out this fight?”

 They knew even without Jongin saying a word - but for what other reason would Jongin appear like that, after all? Around them, their group was quickly going through a plan of attack, and sending word to the other groups who were still waiting for their scouts to return.

 “I’m fine, I’m fine, give me a moment,” Jongin bit out, rolling onto his stomach before pushing himself upwards. His back was aching a little, but the pain was already subsiding.

 “Jongin, really, I can’t see anything about you, are you sure you’re okay?” Seulgi stressed out, clearly worried, but Jongin just nodded and stretched a little.

 “Come on, we need to go,” Jongin said, before taking hold of Seulgi’s wrist and pulling her along, to catch up with the rest.

 When their paths crossed with a few of the other groups, Jongin barely felt the pain anymore. Regrouping together, they headed in the direction Jongin pointed out, everyone focused and attentive. Even though they could not see the invaders yet, they all knew how out of the blue an attack could come.

 They had all trained to be prepared for whatever might pop out in front of them. Jongin should have seen it, he really should have known, realized, but he did not.

 The sound of fighting was heard, and they all moved in that direction, shortly coming across where two of the other groups had already come in contact with the attackers - the Children of Nemesis. There were many, so many of them, more than two groups of five people each really could handle. Jongin spotted Sehun first, then Kyungsoo, and he increased his speed just as the others with him did as well.

 It was confusing, to be in the middle of a fight with other mutants like this. They were so many, with such varied powers, that everything became a blur. It was Jongin’s first time in a fight this big, but he tried to keep his head above the surface, act on instinct, and just fight whatever bad guy that came in his way.

 But then, there was someone in front of him, someone he recognized. Diamond eyes blinked at him, surprised yet not, and Jongin felt his world tilt.

_ Soojung. _

 Was he supposed to fight her? She was with Nemesis now, a bad guy, but how was Jongin supposed to fight her? He could see that there was hesitation in Soojung’s eyes as well, but determination in the way her hands fisted by her sides, and he felt a bit relieved that she found it at least  _ almost _ as hard to fight him as he found it to fight her.

 When Soojung ran for him, Jongin had yet not decided on what to do, still too shocked and barely believing his eyes, and he knew that this would be bad, but a few steps away from Jongin, something dark collided with Soojung’s crystalline body, drawing a yelp out of her as she flew and skidded across the grass.

 “I’ll take care of her,” someone said, and Jongin realized that it was Kyungsoo. It was Kyungsoo who had tackled Soojung, it was Kyungsoo who now offered to deal with Jongin’s ex-girlfriend. Just so Jongin would not have to.

 And Jongin realized that that was why Kyungsoo had tried to stop Jongin. He knew that Soojung might very well be here to attack, and he knew that Jongin was not ready. Yes, Jongin should have known, should have realized. He knew Soojung was one of them now, but it was not until now, as Jongin watched Soojung parry the punch Kyungsoo threw, that Jongin  _ knew _ . Realization dawned on him, for real this time, that Soojung was gone.

 In her place was Krystal, a child of Nemesis, an enemy.

 A punch straight to the guts tore Jongin out of his thoughts, and forced him to focus on the battlefield again. He did not have time to accept and come to terms with things right now, that would have to wait until later.

 Another Academy group arrived, and soon, they were able to push the attackers back. Finally Jongin was able to take a breathe, looking around as some began to retreat, whilst some were still locked in fights - and that was when he saw Kyungsoo and Krystal, fighting, crystal against strength. With a well-aimed kick, Krystal managed to knock Kyungsoo into one of the rock formations littering the place, his face twisting in pain as the fissures spread through the rock behind him. She fell to the ground as well, clutching her leg.

 A loud crack was heard, and fear coursed through Jongin’s veins as he saw the large stone fall, even as Kyungsoo caught it. There was no way they would both get out of there unharmed, and Jongin’s heart was stuttering in pain already. Kyungsoo was strong, but he was not strong enough to hold the stone up for too long, his time quickly running out, by the  _ seconds _ .

 He needed do to something, and so he did.

 Teleporting in beneath the stone, Jongin reached out and wrapped a hand around Soojung’s upper arm, pulling on her maybe a bit harsher than needed, until he was able to reach Kyungsoo as well. The strain was visible on the older’s face, as well as the fatigue, and at the same moment as Jongin put a hand on Kyungsoo’s shoulder, Kyungsoo’s arms gave out.

 Jongin had closed his eyes in panic as he teleported, hoping and wishing and whatnot that they would safely make it, but not really brave enough to keep his eyes open. But as he heard a gasp behind him, he forced himself to look, almost collapsing to his knees in relief to find that both he and Kyungsoo were safe.

 Kyungsoo was blinking in surprise at him, before his eyes went to behind Jongin, and Jongin was reminded of the second passenger. Looking down, Jongin released his grip on Krystal, a twinge of relief attacking his heart when he saw that she was alright as well.

 “W-why did you save me?” Krystal shakily asked, eyes giant and round as she looked up at him, and Jongin could only shake his head.

 “Figure it out on your own, I have no obligations to explain myself to you.” And with that, Jongin took a hold of Kyungsoo’s wrist, and teleported them away from Krystal.

 As soon as they touched down on ground again, they both collapsed. Jongin from the added strain of carrying two people at once and teleporting that much in such a short time whilst fighting, and Kyungsoo probably from overstraining himself.

 “Jongin,” Kyungsoo breathed, amaze filling his voice. “That was… Amazing? You were so quick, and two of us? Wow…”

 Jongin gave a small smile, a bit proud of himself. “Thanks, hyung…”

 They missed the last part of the fight, but there was not much to miss anyway. By the time Jongin was saving Kyungsoo, most were retreating. Three people were knocked unconscious and taken back to the Academy in bindings meant to hold whatever kind of mutant needed. A few from SM were injured, but no one was seriously harmed.

 All in all, it had been a successful battle; though it was suspected that this was just a tryout, not a real battle. Just the Children of Nemesis testing the boundaries, testing their fighting capacities.

 No matter what, they would be back. There was no doubt about it.

 

 Three weeks later, Jongin was found by a terrified-looking Baekhyun, who quickly dragged him over to Bo-ah’s office without any explanation.

 “Jongin,” she said as they stepped inside, standing with her hands on her desk, looking composed yet worried. “We need you to help us. I don’t have time to explain everything, but I need you to teleport over here as quickly as possible.”

 Jongin looked down at the photo Bo-ah slid across the desk towards him. He did not recognize the place, and going to unfamiliar places was quite the bit harder than going to someplace he knew, but it was not impossible. As long as Jongin had seen the place, either through a picture, video, or with his own two eyes, he could get there. There was a possibility he could go to a place he had only had described to him as well, but that was not something he had tried to explore yet.

 “Okay? What’s there?” Jongin asked, glancing between Bo-ah and Baekhyun. A really bad feeling was starting to settle into his stomach…

 “Kyungsoo, that’s what’s there,” Baekhyun blurted out, and Jongin turned to look at him with wide eyes.

 “He went on a special mission together with Donghae, but a few minutes ago, Donghae returned,” Bo-ah elaborated. “He’s been taken to the infirmary, passing out after telling us to get to Kyungsoo. And  _ you _ are the only one who can get there in time, since you’re the only one who can go to a place you’ve only seen as a picture.”

 Heart beating uncomfortably fast in his chest, hard yet shallowly, Jongin tried to swallow past the lump in his throat. If Donghae had returned, so badly injured that he had collapsed…

 “Be careful, Jongin, it’s in enemy territory, and we don’t want to lose anyone,” Bo-ah said, softly, and Jongin looked up at her. Clenching clammy hands, Jongin gave a nod, before closing his eyes and focusing.

 It required a bit more to go to a place like this, but Jongin put his everything into it - after all, it was Kyungsoo at the stake. Inhaling, Jongin clung to the image in his mind, and allowed his body to disintegrate.

 Jongin heard the screams and sounds of fights even before his body fully formed again, eyes open before he was able to see. He found himself standing staring at the exact same angle that the picture had been taken in, and, whirling around, he found Kyungsoo.

 Kyungsoo who was currently trying to hold off three people on his own.

 Not even thinking, Jongin flash teleported from where he was over to the fighting, reforming and using his momentum to throw one of the other’s balance off. He went down with a shrill cry that had the others notice Jongin’s presence, and Jongin caught Kyungsoo’s shocked eyes before he became occupied with the second girl who decided to leave Kyungsoo with the other and take care of Jongin.

 She was strong, similar to Kyungsoo, and Jongin mentally thanked the older for forcing him to train together. Had they not, Jongin was sure he would already be down on the ground by now.

 The guy Jongin had knocked down was back on his feet now, joining the first girl in trying to take Kyungsoo down, both recognizing that Kyungsoo was the bigger threat and thinking that the other girl would be able to handle Jongin on her own. They were not completely wrong, because even though Jongin managed to stay standing, she was doing much better than him.

 The next time Jongin managed to catch a glimpse of Kyungsoo, the guy was once more down on the ground, this time lying still, unconscious. Just before Jongin’s attention was once more pulled back to his own fight, he saw Kyungsoo starting to gain the upper hand in his fight.

 Then there was the sound of wings beating, and Jongin looked up just in time to see the metallic feathers being shot down towards them. Teleporting, Jongin managed to get Kyungsoo out of the way, but the girl he was fighting held on tight, and he was unable to teleport them away from there.

 Kicking her away, Jongin was about to reach out for Kyungsoo again, but a barrage of metal feathers separated them. Growing increasingly annoyed by the situation, Jongin looked up and made a split-second decision.

 He teleported straight up into the air.

 Dropping out of nothingness just above the flying man, Jongin collided hard with his back, keeping the man’s wings pinned as they quickly hurled towards the ground. He could hear Kyungsoo scream at him from the ground, but Jongin gritted his teeth and held on.

 When they were just a few meters off of the ground, Jongin released the man and kicked him away, teleporting before the man hit the ground, reappearing just a decimeter or two above the ground. All of the momentum from having fallen from the air was still with him, so Jongin hit the ground hard, but he managed to separate most of it and transfer it into the ground to stop his body from actually breaking.

 In no time at all, Kyungsoo was by his side, calling out his name, and rolling over Jongin pulled his best friend into a hug and teleported them away.

 As soon as they touched down in the school, out on the soccer field as Jongin’s power was a bit messed up from everything that had went down, they were whisked away to the infirmary. Bo-ah talked with them as Changmin checked them for injuries, wanting all of the details. Jongin did not have much to say, staying silent, as Kyungsoo recounted everything that had happened. Jongin was not even sure he would be able to remember everything like Kyungsoo was, too shocked still with what had happened, as the change from battle to calm caused everything to crash down on top of him.

 When they were finally let go, neither having more than a few scraps and bruises (though Kyungsoo forced Changmin to check Jongin thrice, convinced that Jongin’s fall had injured him more), Kyungsoo almost painfully grasped Jongin’s wrist, tugging him along to the older’s room.

 It was obvious that Kyungsoo was furious, but Jongin could not understand why.

 “What the fuck was that?” Kyungsoo asked as soon as they were behind Kyungsoo’s closed door, and Jongin frowned in confusion. “What the fuck were you thinking when you teleported several meters into the air, Jongin?! You can’t fly!”

 Jongin was a bit taken aback, but felt himself start to grow a bit annoyed. He thought that he managed the situation rather well, considering neither of them would otherwise be able to take the flying man down. He had been a big threat, and Jongin had acted on impulse and handled the situation.

 “I dealt with the biggest threat, seeing as he forced us apart so I couldn’t teleport us out of there,” Jongin explained, frown deepening. Were they really arguing over this right now? “Why are you so mad over this?”

 “Because you were reckless, Jongin, way too reckless!” Kyungsoo bit out, eyes aflame with fury. “You can't just do stupid shit like that!”

 “What was I supposed to do, then?” Jongin shot back, anger exploding inside of him. “Teleport out of there on my own? Leave you to die?!”

 “You weren’t supposed to be there in the first place! I wasn’t going to die! I was handling things!”

 Jongin stepped right up into Kyungsoo’s space, feeling almost feverish with fury. “You were not  _ handling _ things, Do Kyungsoo! I don’t give a fuck about how strong you are, because you were going way above your limits, and we both know it! You sent Donghae back to make sure he survived, not to get help, didn’t you? Never thinking about yourself, always about others, even if it leads to your own  _ death _ !”

 Kyungsoo roughly pushed Jongin back, and even when he tried to keep his strength in check, it was still hard enough for Jongin to stumble backwards though he managed to stay upright.

 “What do you know about that, huh? Maybe I sent him back to get help? Maybe I was just trying to hold out to wait for backup? Maybe I  _ wanted _ you to come help me? But never in a million years would I have sent Donghae back if I knew it would end up with you trying to  _ fly _ !” Kyungsoo exclaimed, almost shouting by now. “I wasn’t trying to sacrifice myself, and never will I ever accept you sacrificing yourself for me!”

 There was just something about Kyungsoo’s anger-flushed cheeks, something that had another kind of warmth flare in Jongin’s stomach. He had been so scared, and then felt so relieved, and the two dramatically different feelings mixed together into a heady concoction that made Jongin’s mind grow hazy. He wanted to make them flushed for another reason, he wanted to make Kyungsoo frown from something different than anger, he wanted to see Kyungsoo’s lips red and shiny…

 Not even noticing himself moving, Jongin suddenly found himself with his hands cradling Kyungsoo’s face, lips pressed against lips. As surprise took over, Jongin pulled back to stare at Kyungsoo, his shock mirrored in Kyungsoo’s eyes.

 But it only lasted another moment, before Kyungsoo was fisting his hands into Jongin’s shirt, yanking him forwards by it and crashing their lips together again. Jongin’s brain short-circuited in a flash of electricity, but he did not need to think at the moment, his body responding and knowing what to do anyway.

 The sort of bad part about making out with someone with the power of strength was the fact that things got a bit rough. But Jongin honestly did not mind in the least, feeling so much more alive with the sizzling sensation beneath his skin, and the minor flares of almost-pain every now and then. Sensitivity heightened everything, and Jongin was a panting mess even before his back met with the wall.

 “Tell me to stop,” was whispered against Jongin’s lips, and the completely wrecked voice made Jongin’s stomach flip in painful excitement.

_ “Never stop.” _

 And Kyungsoo obeyed Jongin’s request, never stopping, not until they were both trembling from over-sensitivity and too exhausted to move.

 

 “I’m sorry,” Jongin mumbled as the pleasurable haze cleared from his mind, letting fears sip inside.

 “For what?” Kyungsoo hummed, still sounding half out of his mind.

 “For… I don’t know, kissing you out of the blue and just… Yeah…,” Jongin answered, throwing an arm over his eyes, as if being unable to see would keep all of the ugly feelings and thoughts away.

 Unfortunately, his mind did not need eyes to be nasty to him.

 Silence settled for a while, and Jongin was afraid that Kyungsoo was realizing it all now, becoming disgusted with what Jongin had done, and about to kick Jongin out of his bed for his overstep of boundaries.

 They were  _ best friends _ , and best friends did not do what Jongin and Kyungsoo had done.

 “Excuse you, but did it seem like I didn’t want it?” Kyungsoo asked when he finally spoke up, surprising Jongin. “Wow, Jongin, do you really think I’d pull you back in like that if I  _ didn’t _ want to kiss you? Sure, you’re hot, but nobody is hot enough to make me overlook my uncomfortable feelings about the situation and agree to have sex.”

 Jongin was blushing profusely as he removed his arm, and blinked up at Kyungsoo. “W-wait, what? B-but… We’re best friends!”

 Kyungsoo rolled his eyes at that, turning over onto his side so that he could see Jongin easier, and Jongin wished Kyungsoo had not, considering how embarrassed Jongin was at the moment.

 “There is this thing called friends with benefits that best friends,  _ all _ friends, sometimes do, either to help each other out or because they don’t know how to express their growing feelings and being terrified of ruining their friendship. Baekhyun and Chanyeol are currently stuck in the second category, and it’s rather painful to witness.”

 “But we don’t have that, we haven’t talked about that or agreed on that,” Jongin squeaked out, sort of giving up on himself because holy shit his body was really not helping right now.

 Suddenly, Kyungsoo looked a bit bashful, as he glanced away from Jongin, apparently finding something about the sheet beneath them  _ very _ interesting.

 “Well, sometimes, uh… Sometimes best friends kinda…  _ Evolve _ . Sometimes one of them realize that things are not the same anymore, and… Yeah, then things like this might happen…”

 Jongin squinted as he noticed the blush spreading over Kyungsoo’s cheeks, before his eyes widened in understanding.

_ Holy shit what even. _

 “Uh, are you telling me that you have feelings for me? Because, uh, that’s pretty surprising?” Jongin rambled, before another thought hit him. “Wait, whoa, okay, let’s back up a bit. How  _ long _ have you had feelings for me, Do Kyungsoo?”

 Kyungsoo pouted a little as he still refused to look up at Jongin, and it was a strange contrast to his… Uh, very messy hair.

 “I don’t think it’s backing up from you asking me if I have feelings for you to you asking for how long I’ve had these feelings, that sort of feels like going forwards…,” Kyungsoo muttered, and Jongin was pretty sure his heart skipped a beat. Or many. It was certainly, without a doubt, not beating correctly.

 “Did you just accidentally admit to you having feelings for me?” Jongin gasped, turning Kyungsoo’s words over in his head. “You said ‘asking for how long I’ve had these feelings’, you basically admitted… Holy shit what?”

 Kyungsoo looked up at Jongin with very large eyes, almost double their normal size, and that was quite the feat. He looked like what Jongin imagined a deer caught in the headlights looked like, and there was something very silly about that image that almost had Jongin laugh out loud.

 But now was not really the time for that.

 “W-what, I-I mean, you can interpret it in many ways, and it doesn’t have to mean that I’m admitting to anything-” Now it was Kyungsoo’s turn to ramble, and Jongin was pretty amazed to see the older so… Freaked out. It was not often Kyungsoo lost his composure like this, but almost every time Jongin had seen it, it had been because of him.

 How lovely! In a completely non-sarcastic way! Just pure lovely!

 Jongin let Kyungsoo ramble, and it did not take long before Kyungsoo snapped, entire face red by now.

 “Okay, fine! Yes, I have feelings for you, and I’ve had them for a long time now!” Kyungsoo burst out, burying his face in his hands. “It was a crush when I left, and it faded when I was away, and then when I got back you had to look all handsome and grown up and honestly so fucking  _ hot _ that I just,  _ ugh _ , and now here we are! Kim Jongin, I swear to god, wipe that fucking grin off of your face right in this very moment!”

 Jongin could not help but laugh. “How do you know I’m smiling? You have your hands over your face!” Because Jongin was very much grinning, a giddy feeling bubbling through his veins now.

 “I know you well enough to just know,” Kyungsoo muttered, and Jongin accepted that as an explanation - it honestly would not surprise him if that was true, they had known each other for long enough now.

 And that brought Jongin back to the time estimation he had gotten, and his spirit sank a tiny bit.

 “So, you had a crush on me during my relationship?” Jongin silently asked, getting a nod in return. “Oh, wow, I’m sorry about that… I didn’t know…”

 Kyungsoo sighed as he rubbed at his face, before removing his hands.

 “Don’t apologize, like you said you didn’t know, and you were very much in love with Soojung. And you were happy with her, so I wasn’t bitter or anything over it. At least not  _ too _ much. And of course you didn’t know, you can be pretty dense about those things, Jonginnie. I swear, half of the school knew you and Soojung had the hots for each other, but you still thought that Taemin was in love with her. When Taemin was having the hots for someone else, and it didn’t matter anyway since Soojung only had eyes for you.”

 Jongin grimaced with each and every mention of Soojung, finally just placing his hand over Kyungsoo’s mouth to shut him up.

 “Please, hyung, stop talking about my ex, you’re ruining my post-orgasmic bliss,” Jongin complained, and Kyungsoo looked over at him in surprise, before he tore Jongin’s hand away from his mouth.

 “Oh my god, you’re such a little  _ brat _ !  _ You _ were the one ruining  _ my _ post-orgasmic bliss in the first place!”

 “But both of us shouldn’t have to suffer like that,” Jongin said with a pout, cackling as Kyungsoo attacked him.

 

 A few hours later, as they had cleaned up and gotten dressed, Kyungsoo finally picked up on something being wrong - or had just had enough waiting for Jongin to spit it out and decided to take the matter into his own hands.

 “What’s wrong?” Kyungsoo asked, an exasperated sort of patience in his voice.

 Jongin had been thinking. Jongin had been thinking a lot, but he had not managed to come to a conclusion. He did not have answers to all of his questions, but he did know what he did not want to do.

 So he took a deep breath, and tried to put his thoughts into words. Which was harder than he thought it would be, for some reason. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was about him having slept with his best friend.

 “I… Don’t really know what I feel for you, hyung,” Jongin slowly said, frowning a little. “Up until I kissed you I thought my feelings for you were strictly platonic, but now… I’m not sure. And I don’t want to drag you into something just to realize that I’m not feeling anything romantical for you, and end up breaking your heart. That’s just… Kinda shitty.”

 Kyungsoo sat in silence for a while, looking thoughtful, before nodding.

 “That’s a pretty mature viewpoint, Jongin, and I’m pretty happy you see things that way. I don’t really feel like getting my hopes up and having my heart broken either, so… Take your time to figure things out, I’ll be here for you. No matter in what form you need or want me.”

 Jongin sighed as he leaned his head against Kyungsoo’s shoulder, taking comfort in the warmth and scent of the older.

 “You’re too good to me, hyung, too pure for this world.”

 “Nah, just protecting my own heart, I’m actually pretty selfish.”

 And Jongin could not help but chuckle over Kyungsoo’s carelessly uttered words, even when knowing that they were not as careless as they seemed. And that sort of cracked Jongin’s heart a little bit.

 

 Having spent a few sleepless nights with his thoughts running in circles, Jongin realized that he would need someone else’s help to figure everything out. Kyungsoo was easily ruled out, and so, through deduction, Taemin was chosen.

 “Taemin, you’re needed for some best friend duties,” Jongin said as he walked over to the other, taking a hold of Taemin’s arm and dragging him away.

 “Uh, okay? Is Kyungsoo sick or something?” Taemin asked, confusion clear in his voice, and Jongin shot him a lost look over his shoulder. “I mean, you almost always go to Kyungsoo for best friend matters, I’m just surprised you’re turning to me now that he’s back home.”

 “Yeah, well, I went to you now, be happy about it or I’ll find someone else,” Jongin muttered, leading them outside.

 “No, no, I’m happy about it, just confused!” Taemin clarified. “Don’t worry, I’m here for you, I’ll help you with whatever you need, you can trust in me!”

 “Good,” Jongin said with a sigh, finally releasing Taemin and collapsing down onto the ground by one of the large trees dotted around the garden.

 “Are you okay?” Taemin asked as he sat down next to Jongin, rubbing a hand over the other’s back.

 “Uh, define okay?” Jongin weakly asked, putting his head in his hands and leaning forwards.

 “Okay, let’s start this over, tell me what’s wrong,” Taemin rather bluntly prompted Jongin, who groaned a little.

 “So, uhm, I might have… Well, sorta accidentally slept with… Kyungsoo…?” Jongin slowly whispered, cheeks aflame, not daring to look up at Taemin.

 It was silent for a moment, long enough for Jongin to contemplate looking up, before Taemin sighed.

 “I knew it, it had something to do with Kyungsoo, had it been anyone else you’d gone to him,” Taemin lamented, sighing yet again. “You really only remember me as your best friend whenever Kyungsoo is unavailable…”

 Jongin looked up to glare at Taemin. “That’s not true and you know it. And why are you so chill about this?”

 Taemin gave a shrug before leaning back onto his hands, his carefree stance starting to annoy Jongin.

 “I mean, I’m not really surprised? Took you long enough, though,” Taemin said, making Jongin look over at him with wide eyes. “What? I’m pretty sure you had a childish mini crush on him when we were younger, you always seemed so attached to him, and then it changed a little, I guess, as we grew up. But it’s always seemed a bit more than just a friendship, even a bit more than a ‘best friends’ friendship. Except for that time during truth or dare, I’m pretty sure you’ve never thought about kissing me or do more with me, right?”

 Jongin fidgeted a bit with his fingers, not wanting to look at Taemin again, which Taemin misread.

 “Wait, what, you have? Well I guess it is true as they say, the reason for why best friends are close is because they’re harboring minor feelings for each other…,” Taemin mused, making Jongin choke on his breath.

 “No, what, no! I’ve never thought about kissing you!” Jongin spluttered, feeling his cheeks heat up even more, however that was even possible…

 “Now you’re just insulting me, and it hurts,” Taemin pouted, making Jongin slap his arm.

 “Stop! It’s just- we were fighting and he was flushed from anger, and something just snapped in me and before I knew it I was kissing him!” Jongin rushed out, fighting so hard against just teleporting out of the awkward situation.

 “Hm. Angry make up sex? Sounds great,” Taemin mumbled, before once again being hit. “Ow, stop hitting me! Anyway, his flushing triggered you into kissing him, and then you had sex. So why are we here discussing this?”

 Jongin groaned as he once more hid his face in his hands, uncomfortably doubling over so that the top of his hands were pressed into the lawn.

 “Oh, wow, I have to make sure to tell Kyungsoo how flexible you are for next time!”

 “There might not be another time!” Jongin bit out as he sat up straight again, glaring at Taemin. “ _ That’s _ why we’re here discussing this! Because I don’t know what the fuck I’m feeling, and I don’t know what to do!”

 Taemin gave a soft smile and patted Jongin’s knee, and Jongin just blinked, confused by the sudden change in demeanor.

 “There we go, better if you just let it out,” Taemin said, still smiling, and Jongin just felt frustrated now. “And I think you  _ do _ know what you feel and want to do. You might just not want to acknowledge it…?”

 Jongin looked down at the grass beneath him, starting to pull tufts of straws out of it.

 “Are you feeling guilty?”

 Holding his breath, Jongin stilled, fingers wrapped around grass that he had not yet pulled out. His mind was whirring, thoughts spinning fast, too fast, making him dizzy and nauseous.

 “It’s been almost a year, Jongin,” Taemin said in a low voice, putting a hand on Jongin’s shoulder and lightly massage it. “You don’t have to feel guilty about this, about moving on. She doesn’t deserve your guilt. She made her choice, she moved on, and it’s time for you to do the same.”

 “Ugh, you’re making it sound as if I’m using Kyungsoo as a rebound lay,” Jongin groaned, falling backwards onto the ground to stare up at the sky, pushing away the thoughts of guilt and exes. At least for now.

 “I really hope you’re not, because I know for sure you’ll be castrated and strung up for it if that’s the case,” Taemin pointed out, poking Jongin’s side and making him curl up a little. “Baekhyun  _ especially _ won’t let you live, and I’ll make sure get a jab or two in as well.”

 “Oh,  _ god _ , that’s a horrible thought,” Jongin whimpered, putting his arm across his face. “I swear on everything that that’s not my intention at all!”

 “I know, I know, you’re too nice for that,” Taemin said, patting Jongin’s chest. “Just make sure you keep it that way.”

 Jongin sighed and nodded. Never in a million years would he ever want to make Kyungsoo feel used - Kyungsoo did not deserve that. Kyungsoo deserved so much better than that, and… Jongin wondered if that might be him. If he could be what Kyungsoo deserved. Or rather if he could be enough, at the very least.

 As his entire head began to pound painfully, Jongin groaned and rolled over onto his stomach.

 

 After his talk with Taemin, Jongin had new thoughts unlocked and thrown into the tornado already in his head. Jongin jokingly asked Sehun if he could help him calm the storm down, but Sehun only laughed and called him ‘stupidly cute’. Which did not really help Jongin, at all.

 To some extent, Jongin avoided Kyungsoo, explaining he needed time and space. Kyungsoo just nodded and smiled, telling him that whatever Jongin needed he would respect, and it just made Jongin feel even worse about it all.

 Because he was beginning to see the logic in Taemin’s words. He was feeling guilty over fully letting his feelings for Soojung go, for realizing that those feelings were not really there anymore, and that other feelings had grown - or rather, changed.

 He had always been close to Kyungsoo, quickly bonding with him, quickly getting attached to him. Kyungsoo was the first person Jongin would search out after having returned back from visiting home, the older immediately helping Jongin calm down and not feel so sad anymore. Kyungsoo was the first person Jongin would go to for help and advice, and Kyungsoo was the one with the highest probability to talk Jongin into something, or convince him of something. Kyungsoo was the one person Jongin told almost everything, including embarrassing things - even if it took some time to formulate it, and Kyungsoo had to guess some things on his own when embarrassment tied Jongin’s tongue.

 Kyungsoo had always been dear to Jongin, and Jongin realized that the leap from best friend to crush was not as big as it maybe should be. And Jongin wondered when it had started to change, because it did not seem like a sudden change. He was just beginning to notice the signs that had been there for a while now.

 Jongin finally realized that he was in love with Kyungsoo, that the sleeping together had been triggered by his growing feelings and not something else, and it was a kind of relief to finally acknowledge that.

 Now he just needed to tell Kyungsoo that. And that honestly scared Jongin more than teleporting into the air had.

 

 Two days later, Jongin had finally gathered the needed courage to confess to Kyungsoo.

 Liquid determination was flowing in Jongin’s veins, his blood having disappeared in favor of adrenaline. He knew what he had to do, what he  _ wanted _ to do, and now he just had to do it. He would not chicken out, he would go through with it - because that was the very least of what Kyungsoo deserved.

 As Jongin was walking around the Academy, trying to find Kyungsoo - the older not having been in his room - the alarms went off.

 “Fucking really?!” Jongin snarled at the speaker closest to him, making a few younger students scurry away from him in fear. “Really fucking horrible timing!”

 “Jongin!” someone called out, and Jongin turned to find Jongdae jogging towards him. “We’re gathering in the courtyard, let’s go!”

 Groaning in frustration, Jongin joined Jongdae, knowing there was no point in ignoring the alarm. After all, Kyungsoo would be amongst the gathered, so Jongin would find him out in the courtyard. Jongin would just not be able to  _ confess _ to him there, it would have to wait until afterwards, and that made Jongin feel even more frustrated.

 But his frustration reached its peak as he and Jongdae was walking through one of the pathways leading towards the courtyard. It was rather deserted, most people having already gone to the courtyard or inside to their rooms, but two people were standing in it, looking rather awkward.

 “Is that Baekhyun and Chanyeol?” Jongin blurted out in surprise - because what were they doing over here, when they were supposed to gather for instructions?

 “Huh? Yeah, it is…,” Jongdae said, sounding just as confused as Jongin felt. “Chanyeol has guard duty, I think, but what is Baekhyun doing here?”

 The two had yet to discover Jongin and Jongdae, seemingly completely absorbed in their talk, and as Jongin got closer he started to notice things. Like how they were leaning a bit towards each other. Almost reaching out towards each other, but hesitantly holding back. Displaying nervous habits - they were both worried about each other, wanting to admit to things before Baekhyun went away to fight, before maybe the Academy was attacked and Chanyeol had to defend, but not daring. Afraid for each other and maybe not getting the chance of admitting to things if they waited any longer, yet also too afraid to admit in this very moment.

 And since they were skirting around the issue of doing what Jongin so badly wanted to do in the moment, Jongin reached his boiling point.

 Angrily stomping down the corridor by now, Jongin saw how both Baekhyun and Chanyeol jerked in surprise, pulling back and looking over with large, fearful eyes. Both were wondering if he knew, afraid that he did, afraid since that meant that others might as well. Oh, Jongin knew…

 “You both are so stupid, just confess and get the fuck on with it,” Jongin growled as he pushed past Baekhyun and Chanyeol, leaving them gawking after him, both deeply blushing. He did not mean to sound so angry, but he really was just so annoyed at the moment.

 “He’s right, you know,” Jongdae added as he quickly followed Jongin.

 There was silence for a while, Jongdae jogging to keep up with Jongin’s speed-walking, but the older could not keep quiet for long.

 “So, Jonginnie, what’s plaguing your mind?” Jongdae asked, sounding a bit forcedly cheerful.

 “Nothing,” Jongin muttered, speeding up a bit more, but Jongdae was hot on his heel.

 “It’s not nothing.”

 “Yes, it is.”

 “No, you’re  _ pouting _ .”

 “Am not!”

 “Kim Jongin, you are pouting, and I know that you know that you are.”

 Groaning, Jongin spun around, almost making Jongdae walk into him.

 “Frustration, I’m frustrated, that’s what’s wrong!” Jongin bit out, throwing his hands out. “Here I am, on my way to make things right, on my way to change my life after maybe having made the biggest decision of my life, and these  _ assholes _ decide to attack! I really wished they’d leave me alone and let me live, so I can finally tell Kyungsoo that I’m in love with him!”

 Somebody cleared their throat behind them, and Jongin froze in place, mortification running cold through him.

_ No way… _

 Whirling around so quickly that he stumbled a little, Jongin came face to face with Kyungsoo and Taemin - the first one with raised eyebrows and the latter trying to suppress a laughter with his hand. Oh, well, at least Taemin was trying.

 “Maybe next time confess to me directly, instead of indirectly in front of Jongdae?” Kyungsoo teased, smug smile on his lips that had Jongin feel sulky.

 “I couldn’t find you,” Jongin muttered. “And then the alarm…”

 “Yeah, I heard you,” Kyungsoo said, smile more amused than smug by now. “Terrible timing, I have to say, because now we don’t have time for the amazing sex that comes with getting together.”

 Jongin flushed hotly as Taemin finally was unable to hold his laughter back anymore, Jongdae quickly joining in as well.

 Kyungsoo was chuckling as well, eyes so bright and smile so beautiful that Jongin felt blinded, but he was rather okay with that.

 “Come on, let’s go,” Kyungsoo said as he took Jongin’s hand, and tugged him along. “Let’s get this over with so we can celebrate. I  _ really _ want to kiss you, you know.”

 “Me too,” Jongin sighed dejectedly, slumping a little as he allowed Kyungsoo to pull him towards the courtyard.

 But it was not only because he was missing out on the ‘amazing sex’ that apparently came with getting together, or the kiss, that Jongin slumped. It was mostly in relief; of having fully let go of the past, having accepted his feelings, and having confessed. And even as they were heading into a battle, Jongin’s heart felt light and warm in his chest, making him feel all giddy and incredible.

 And Kyungsoo’s warm hand in his felt so right that Jongin wondered why they had never held hands like this before.

 

~~~

 

_ “I’m sorry, Nemesis… We failed in taking the school yet again…” _

_  “Don’t worry, child, I’m not angry. We knew it would be difficult. Just keep your faith, and you’ll get there. You, my children, are my only hope, and I know you won’t disappoint me, Themis. You are strong.” _

_  Themis opened her eyes, determination like fire in her eyes. _

_  “Yes,” she transmitted to Nemesis. “I won’t disappoint you. We’ll save you.” _

_  Somewhere in a forgotten cave inside of the planet, Nemesis smiled. _

_  Yes, her children would for sure be able to break her out of her prison… And one day soon, Nemesis would claim her rightful place as the Empress of the Universe. Divine retribution would come to those who imprisoned her and believed that they could keep her locked away for eternity. _


End file.
